Silver Fears
by engel-hund
Summary: The team (plus one) go up against a sadistic interdimensional entity.
1. Endless Destiny

Apologies in Advance, and other stuff.  
  
(Warnings before you read, blah blah blah)  
  
Ronin Warriors are copyrighted property of Sunrise and blah blah blah you know the drill. First off, thank you, Nikki, for writing up the armor descriptions for me, especially for Spooky.  
  
Ignore the way it starts out. This isn't a hentai. But I like that opening, he he.  
  
Sorry, no yaoi in this one. Also, very little Ryo. Absolutely no Mia (Nasty is such a wonderful name for her, bwaha!!) and Yuli. No Warlords. But it's not because I don't like them, (Dais! ^.^) it's just that I have enough material to chew through as it is.  
  
I watch my anime in subs but my RP uses dub names.so I've gotten more used to using their American names. Bite me.  
  
To save on confusion, seeing as this is taking up where someone else's fic left off, apparently everyone's moved to Tokyo for some reason, including the Fuans, who opened a restaurant there. I'll try to find the original fic so I can link up to it, but I'm pretty sure it's disappeared. In any case, I've tried to write in such a way that you shouldn't have to have read the original Spooky fic to understand things.  
  
When Nikki gives me a Spooky Bio I will post it but until then, basic info is she's Sage's cousin, Suzunagi gave her her own armor (Armor of the Seraph) for reasons I'm not clear on, and that she lives with Sage because her parents died in a plane crash a while back. Oh, and Kento has a huge crush on her. ^_^ Now.I'm not a fic writer. (Well I guess NOW I am.) I'm an online text role player. Most freeform online role players seem to try to compete with each other as to who can make the wordiest, most convoluted, most descriptive and flowery sentences possible. I tried to break away from this, since it makes for good RP but bad writing, but I didn't always succeed, and sometimes came up with a description or sentence too damn good to break down. As such, good luck wading through this beast, as it can get pretty word-thick in places. I wouldn't have written this at all had I not been specifically asked to. Keeping that in mind, as per the request, it does HEAVILY feature an original character. (If you haven't figured this out by now, go away, for if you have not realized this you are too thick to comprehend the story anyway.) Said original character is the property of a lady named Bethany who I assume lives somewhere in Georgia. This person went AWOL before I finished this fic for her, but I was too far in to just drop it after all that work, so here it is anyway. If you're her, please drop me a line so I can give credit where credit is due, and sorry for taking two years to get around to actually producing this. (And only part one is done at that!) There were also supposed to be several other original characters, but I had enough of a problem with writing in Nicole (as a central point, no less) and didn't want to further dilute the story by trying to come up with something for the other Extras to do. Don't bother quibbling with me on details. In research I found a dozen conflicting accounts and explanations for everything from whether Sai is actually British or not to debates on Rowen's real personality traits. I just picked whatever seemed more supported and ran with it. Yeah, I know, this isn't in keeping with the "magic martial arts" theme. It's more of a horror story. I was asked to write a Ronin Warriors fic featuring Nicole "Spooky" Date and my original RP villain, Macabre, whose name should say it all.  
  
If you can live with all of the above mentionings..happy reading.  
  
PROLOGUE 1.1: WOUNDS  
  
She was succulent and seductive, spreading wide before him with an invitingly innocent appeal. Sparkling eyes of a thousand facets silently bespoke her lustful readiness for his gaze to fall upon her. She was particularly enticing tonight, dressed in flawless black velvet and the most exquisite jewelry. Oh such jewels! Flow upon flow of glittering diamonds absolutely dripped from her, punctuated now and again by a pale sapphire and even rarer ruby; a veritable picture of stunning glory indeed.  
  
Rowen licked his lips in excited anticipation and leaned forward eagerly, placing his eye to the telescope. Yes, Lady Night was particularly beautiful this eve. She was his first love and perhaps the only one he would ever need. A familiarly acquainted eye took in the now magnified heavens, scrutinizing every detail, memorizing every point of celestial light before breaking away to kneel to the fragrant summer grasses, marking meticulous notes upon a careworn journal. Scattered about on the grassy hill, their corners weighted with stones to foil the gusts of wind, were the star charts his friend Sage had given him last Christmas. The young, almost painfully thin man absently shook away deep cobalt tresses from similarly shaded eyes...dreamers' eyes, as he'd once been told. Those shimmering pools turned now to the charts.studying what should be the summer constellations, long, graceful fingers trailing affectionately along already wearing edges.  
  
"Rowen!" cried an impatient, distinctly accented voice. "I think we should head back now, it's getting late!" Rowen sighed. Sai Mouri was one of the most patient souls he had ever met, but apparently even the young Brit had his limits. Rowen could hardly blame him.after all, ever since his license was suspended he'd been begging rides from poor Sai left and right, and usually at the odd hours of darkness. "If your obsession has been quite fulfilled for the eve could we please go?" insisted the slightly built brunette as he called from the bottom of the rise. "Don't talk to me about obsessions, Fish-Boy!" Rowen drawled back. "I've seen all those season passes to what, ten different aquariums in your wallet!" "...W.well yes, but I..HEY!! Just what were you doing in my wallet?!" Upon getting no immediate reply.a suspicious act in itself, Sai crossed his arms and leaned back against the hood of the appropriately blue Honda, shaking his head. Rowen was incorrigible. Sai may as well just give up.a small smile broke across thin features then. Rowen could have his stars. Oh, they were pretty enough, but nothing quite compared to the hypnotic flash of a synchronized shoal of silvery fish.the exotic dance of a hovering lionfish's frills.or the ghostly grace of a soaring manta ray. The light fabric of his blazer hissed softly as he slumped against the cool metal of the car, his thoughts drifting. His affinity for the sea may seem silly to Rowen but it meant so much to Sai. Those life-filled waters brought to mind memories.fond memories.of the time when he was small, before his father.he. Sai closed his eyes and bit his lip softly. There were travesties best left buried.  
An abrupt flash of light from above and a cry from Rowen interrupted his thoughts suddenly. He bolted up the hill, softly feathered, warm brown tresses flying behind him, to find Rowen eagerly plastered to his telescope. Not that any magnification was necessary, Sai noted as he looked upwards, shielding his eyes with one hand. Above was a nebulous flower of effulgent blues and reds mingling to purple in a sort of celestial cloud, the center of which intensified to a blinding white starburst that turned night into day.  
  
"Don't look directly at it," Rowen murmured, not taking his own advice, his attention still glued hopelessly to the telescope. "What is it?" Sai asked in wonderment, averting his eyes from the spectacular sight.  
"I'm not sure," Rowen replied tersely. "I think the light from a supernova just reached us. I heard something like this happened a few decades ago. See, the stars are so far away that the light they produce takes billions of years to actually reach us. Because of this fact many of the stars we see today don't even exist, they died a long time ago, but their light is still traveling, and-OW!" Sai elbowed his worshipfully ranting friend in the ribs. Rowen rubbed his side and got to the point. "Anyway, it's the light from an exploding star that actually burst a very long time ago.I think. Wish I'd have brought a camera."  
  
Sai looked back up to the brilliant night flower above. It was undoubtedly beautiful. But there seemed to be something else.something that set off silent alarms in the back of his mind.Rowen seemed to suddenly feel it too, for his enthusiasm died off and he tensed slightly, straightening from his telescope once more, his pale face somber. He spoke then, so soft and faint that Sai only barely heard.  
  
"The..sky.." Rowen breathed, "The sky is.weeping.no.screaming. The  
Heavens are screaming."  
  
--- In the daytime, Kamure Street was usually full of bicyclists, pedestrians, noisy traffic, booth sellers shouting and touting their wares, and other assorted cacophonies that one would expect from such a neighborhood thoroughfare. But now, it was evening, and only the occasional passerby or vehicle disturbed the otherwise placid atmosphere. As the warmth of day began to cool from the sidewalks, slightly unsteady steps echoed from the somewhat weary brick buildings, steps accompanied by the occasional grunt or pant. The source was more than a few overloaded grocery bags that seemed to have sprouted legs and was moving in a mildly erratic pattern down the street.  
Kento took a deep breath of warm, humid night air and shifted the bags in his arms, pausing to lean his shoulder against the crumbling edge of a mortared wall. The dark haired, navy eyed young man most certainly didn't mind helping out with his parent's restaurant now and again when they needed it.especially on these nights when the business picked up so much that they needed more supplies and lacked the time to go and get them themselves. After all, it wasn't too late and Kento was readily at hand, having reclaimed his room in the living quarters right above the restaurant. It felt comforting, getting his old room back and being among family once more. The familiar sights, sounds, and smells he'd woken up to every morning as a child were now his to experience again. He earned his keep, however, and had even gone so far as to recently seek part time employment outside the family business.although he would more than happily let the restaurant be handed down to him. But until then.  
A sigh, and he straightened.it wasn't that the bags were heavy-Kento could lift more than his own weight and then some.but they were awkward, and required his full attention to keep from sliding off one arm or the other. Deciding perhaps to restack them, he knelt and began carefully putting them down. His stomach growled suddenly and he smirked.well.perhaps the bags would be lighter to carry if he relieved them of a few items? The already somewhat chubby Kento grinned to himself and reached into a bag, fishing after some pocky he'd surreptuously tucked into the basket at the store, when something caught the corner of his eye. He blinked and looked up towards the mouth of an alleyway, just in time to watch a short statured figure bolt away into the shadows. A child, perhaps? But in an alley at night? This wasn't that kind of neighborhood. On impulse, he stood and crept to the alley, forgetting all about the groceries for the moment.  
  
"Hello?" he called softly into the darkness, his boyish face puzzled. He was silent a moment, straining to hear.and getting nothing but a steady drip from a cracked pipe and the distant murmur of someone's television set. He was about to turn around and give up when he heard a slight shuffling off to one side. He quite nearly held his breath as he moved in closer, eyes narrowing as they tried to pick out a shape amidst the alleyway debris.  
  
"Is someone there?" a cautious hand was put forth tentatively for the shape.if it was a child, he only wanted to help it, after all.  
  
There was a flurry of motion and a horrible, inhuman screeching sound.pain shot up Kento's wrist and he yelped, jerking backwards in shock. Whatever it was leapt onto a pile of crates and bolted over a fence, gone. He turned his attention to his hand with a grimace. The wrist was bleeding, with what looked like fang marks.so that was it.an animal of some kind? It was rather large to be a cat.but he'd never seen a dog jump like that or make that kind of noise. Troubled, he turned back out of the alleyway to reclaim his groceries. The wound was not too bad and could be treated at home. But that awful screech continued to play over and over in his head for the rest of the trip home.  
  
PART 1.1 ENDLESS DESTINY  
  
Morning sunlight streamed through the large window, golden beams shifting in a slow dance along the floor, catching and pooling upon the cherry- blossom printed blanket that was draped along the bed and its single occupant. Nicole's slight, petite form was all but swallowed by the heaps of pillows and quilts that had been piled about her shivering self. Long, red hair snaked in free little rivers and whirlpools about the blankets, her large green eyes fever-bright and irritated. The purplish birthmarks beneath her eyes were more pronounced than ever. Ghostly pale, delicate fingers were wrapped carefully about the steaming cup of soup in her lap, waiting to drink of it for the moment until her temperature had registered on the thermometer that currently rested between her lips.  
  
A soft knock followed by even softer footsteps announced the arrival of her well-meaning jailer, who claimed a lightly padded stool beside the bed and gently took the thermometer with one fine fingered hand, holding the object to the light to read it with a clinical air. Nicole smiled slightly as she watched the oh-so-serious manner that her cousin Sage was taking with this entire affair, quietly bringing the waiting cup of soup to her lips at last. Sage's icy blues closed a moment as he absently shook the thermometer with one hand, the other one just as absently pushing that hopeless mane of pale blonde from his eyes.with the usual minimal success, as it simply flopped right back down over that one eye.  
  
"Quite the fever you have, Spook'." he informed her softly, setting the instrument aside and touching her forehead with the back of his hand, creating an odd contrast in color. Sage was rather pale skinned, but even he looked healthily tanned compared to his semi-albino younger cousin. "Hold on while I find some medicine to help bring it down," he said, standing with a small shake of his head. Nicole had fallen ill so suddenly last night.without warning. One moment she was perfectly fine, and the next she had wilted like a blossom taken too close to a flame.it had more than alarmed him, and ever since, he had been doting on her.something that he seemed to do anyhow. From the time that his orphaned cousin had come to live with him, the two had grown far closer, creating something more of a brother-sister relationship than a cousin-cousin one.but then, they seemed to have that from the very beginning. The two had always shared an affectionate, profound bond that even most siblings did not possess. Perhaps it was this bond that kept Nicole from protesting too much when Sage decided to go "mother hen" on her as he was won't to do on occasions such as this. Honestly, one would think Sage fancied his cousin to be made of glass sometimes. (AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here's the point where I have mercy and start writing in plainer terms.) There came a soft knock on the doorframe and both Dates looked up to see a cheerful bouquet of flowers followed by an even more cheerful face. Nicole smiled and pushed herself up with one hand to greet Sai, who stepped in from the hallway and shuffled away from the door.  
  
"Sai Mouri," Nicole beamed despite how poorly she felt, "I haven't seen you in forever! What have you been up to?" "School," Sai shrugged, giving an honest enough answer as he carefully laid the flowers across the stool Sage had been sitting in moments before. The Brit chose to stand, hands folded quietly behind his back, regarding her warmly with those dancing eyes. He gave a greeting nod to Sage, who returned the gesture familiarly and left to get the medicine. Nicole reached to touch one of the delicate flowers nested in the bouquet, then looked up questioningly. "Are these for me?" she asked the obvious as she noted her name was on a yellow tag hanging from a loop of twine about the flowers. "That was very sweet of you!" Sai ran his hands through those unkempt brunette locks, one hand lingering just behind his head as he laughed. "Don't thank me for them, I was only the messenger boy."  
  
Nicole blinked and let her gaze fall back to the bright arrangement. "Then who are they from?" she asked. Sai slipped his hands in his pockets and rolled those rich blues towards the ceiling, the smile on his lips giving away the amused brand of exasperation that tinged the gesture.  
  
"Kento of course. The big chicken claimed he had to take his kid sister and her friends to the movies and just couldn't make it over here to deliver them himself," he chuckled. The way Kento felt about the frail little Date was no secret, though he tried to pretend it was. Nicole smiled softly and settled back into the pillows. He was such a big, sweet teddy bear. He'd been the one to give her the nickname "Spooky" after she inadvertantly startled him one night in the dark during a visit to the States. Sage returned, bearing a fresh glass of water on one hand and a bottle of medicine in the other. "The Date curse, no?" Sai grinned as he stepped away to let Sage do whatever was needed. The blonde man shot him a mildly dirty look as he doled out little white tablets to hand to his cousin, who seemed none too thrilled to be receiving them. Sage straightened after making sure she took them, reclosing the bottle tightly before replying.  
  
"We do seem to become sickly at one point in our lives or another.moreso than other people," he admitted. "I suppose, however, that's why there's so many doctors in the family. Speaking of which.I should get going. While I'm sure Mother would understand about Nicole, I still don't like to be late." With that, he scooped up his waiting coat, kissed Spooky's forehead, and swept out the door to his family's medical practice.  
  
"Physician by morning, kendo sensei by afternoon, mother hen by evening, hmm?" came a new voice from the open window. Nicole snatched up the nearest pillow and whacked Rowen across the face with it.  
  
"Don't you ever knock?" she exclaimed with mock fury. Hashiba held up his arm to fend off a second blow, laughing.  
  
"Hey, I thought you were supposed to be sick!" "Ugh, isn't there anyone who doesn't know about that?" Nicole sighed and tucked the pillow back in its place. "I've been ill for less than twenty four hours!" "News travels quickly among good friends, I guess," Rowen grinned, climbing in gracelessly through the window, banging his head on the ledge and knocking over the neat stack of stuffed animals that had been against the wall. He got to his feet, rubbing his head, his eyes watering. Sai covered his mouth to hide a smile, perhaps a bit too late, as Ro gave him an evil glare. Sai seemed to be a dirty look magnet this morning. "I wish Mr. Mousse hadn't left so suddenly," Rowen sighed, still scrubbing his fingers through cobalt tresses. "I really needed to talk with him. What time does he come home these days?" "He comes home from the practice at noon, then teaches from one to seven," Nicole replied as she drew the sheets up about her chin, pale green eyes flickering from Sai's face to Rowen's for a moment. "Something's bothering you two," she stated quietly. "What is it?" They both startled and looked at eachother, then laughed, perhaps a bit too nervously. "Nothing!" Rowen exclaimed, though he knew better than to lie to Nicole Date. The girl had an eerie way of being able to tell when someone was lying or not. She'd seen through his smoothest tales and excuses before. A cold look from those piercing emeralds was all it took to get Rowen to drop the innocent look from his face. He sighed and held out his armor orb. Sai produced his as well, following the other's lead. The little spheres, about the size of a child's shooter marble, were responsible for calling forth the mystical armor they had been endowed with. Rowen's was a deep, midnight blue that on closer inspection seemed to have tiny pinpricks of light swirling freely within, quite nearly resembling stars. Sai's was a much lighter shade of aquamarine, networks of paler color dancing about within, rather like light playing upon gently moving water. Both orbs were pulsing with a steady, soft glow. Nicole blinked. "Why are they doing that?" she mused, wondering if hers was doing the same thing. The armor orbs seemed to have minds of their own. She could recall countless times she'd left her own in her dresser while she went to school, only to reach into her book satchel and find it twinkling there, waiting. They were wherever they wanted to be, it would seem. She took a moment to reach into her nightstand, where she'd been keeping her own for now. Nicole's armor orb, Seraph, was pale grey laced through with silver crescents that ever so slowly turned this way and that, descending, like feathers falling in slow motion. As suspected, hers too was glowing with that steady, warning pulse. She rolled it about idly in pale, slender hands, not taking her eyes from it. "I'm not sure," Rowen frowned, pocketing his own. "Mine's been doing this since last night." He hesitated, then ran his fingers through his hair and continued. "Did you hear about the supernova last night? It was all over the news." "No," Nicole smiled wanly, tucking her orb away. "I was a little busy being sick. What's going on?" "Well," Rowen started off with a nice, big breath. A withering look from Sai curtailed any urge he may have had to go into a long lecture. "A supernova is the light from a star that's died and, well, basically exploded. There's nothing special about that unto itself.well to me there is but, ow!!" Rowen fended Sai off, who'd elbowed him. "Anyway, there's nothing special about that, but at the exact same time that we saw the nova, the armor orbs started acting funny like this. Maybe there's some kind of magnetic pulse or something like that and they're just freaking out about it and it's nothing, but." ".but it's far more likely they're trying to let us know something," Nicole finished for him in a quiet voice. The three fell silent for a long moment. After all they had been through, maybe it was just too much to hope that their fighting days were over. There was nothing they or anyone else could do about it. They were chosen, and if duty called, they could not ignore their destinies. 


	2. Monster Under the Bed

PART 1.2 THE MONSTER UNDER THE BED  
  
Sage hated to be rushed. He snapped up a piece of toast in irritation and held it in his mouth as he bolted out the door, keys in one hand, coat in the other. Since returning from his travels, he'd begun to emotionally pull away from his family, even Nicole, and went so far as to purchase his own modest house not too far from their old residence. He had taken Nicole in with him anyway, to keep his promise to her; the promise that he would take care of her from now on. Nonetheless, a certain distance had begun to grow, especially between him and the rest of the family. At work, however, all bets were off. He couldn't abandon his family quite that severely, after all, and had taken to helping his mother and sister as they ran the family medical practice. It was something to keep his mind occupied, at the very least. He tried so hard to stay busy these days.he didn't want to stop and think, as that always brought a sour dissatisfaction. Was he really happy with the way things were? With the way his life had been up to this point? To be fair, he had his moments of joy and pleasure, but none really of contentment. He was restless. There was something..missing. Traffic was surprisingly light considering the hour, and he made good time. His rushing steps were brought to a sharp halt just inside of the plated glass, double doors of the low, white building. Chaos ruled in the normally strictly governed halls. People were crying and screaming, strained looking aides ran every which way, rolling stretchers and carrying supplies. The chairs and benches in the waiting room were full, and people had begun lining up on the walls and standing in the hallways. Most seemed to be injured, a few quite badly. The din was something terrible, with babies and children crying and adults yelling at each other or at the aides, equipment clattering by and assorted moans and cries of pain. This wasn't a trauma center, and the appearance of these desperate looking people in need of care was alarming. Had something happened? A natural disaster or bombing, perhaps? Sage would only be stunned a moment before striding quickly to the front desk, where Kairu, their receptionist, stood nearly in tears as she frantically thumbed through papers and tried to deal with people raising their voices to her. Sage gently but firmly pushed an agitated man aside. "Kairu, what's going on in here?" he demanded, immediately regretting the tone. Kairu turned dewed eyes to him, dropping the sheaf of processing papers she'd been holding. "I.I don't know!" she wailed, covering her face and sobbing. "People just started pouring in..the hospitals are full and can't accept anyone else and I can't just turn them away! We tried to reach you, but the phone lines are down all over the place and I just.just." Sage sighed and touched the overwhelmed girl's shoulder. "Kairu, I know this is stressful and demanding.but I need you to be strong right now, okay? Just take it one step at a time.I want you to divide these people up according to who looks to be in most need of help, regardless of who came in first. I'm going to go see what I can do. Where is my mother?" The girl took a deep breath and wiped at her eyes, forcing herself to calm down a little. This wasn't what she expected when she took this job. "Exam room three, the last I saw," she replied with a steadying voice, stooping to pick up the papers she'd dropped behind the desk. "She may not be there anymore, but you can try."  
  
Sage nodded and gave her what he hoped was an encouraging smile before picking his way through the chaos to try and find his mother. He'd locate her two doors down from the designated exam room. Dr. Date looked quite nearly as overwhelmed as Kairu, though she was handling it much better. Wisps of dark hair had come free from its normally tidy bun, and strain was etching the corners of her eyes as nonetheless steady hands rolled a spool of bandaging about a sniffling child's leg. She glanced up for a moment as her son entered the room, a touch of relief flashing across her face before she went back to the task at hand. "I was afraid that you may have been injured as well," she greeted calmly, her eyes back on her work. "Why would I have been injured? Mother, what's happening?" Sage asked. "I don't know," she replied with a grimace, fastening the bandage into place and exchanging the boy for his sister, whose arms looked to be covered in burns. "It's been everything from animal attacks to kitchen stoves exploding to people's cars going out of control. It's like the city has suddenly gone insane. The events seem totally unrelated, but for all of them to happen like this all at once.I don't know, Sage, sweetie.I just don't. Why don't you go help your sister? I think I have things under control here."  
  
That, he knew, was the closest thing he'd get to a dismissal. He left the room without another word, confused and deeply concerned. In his experience, these things didn't "just" happen. Something larger was going on here.but what?  
  
Kento tossed a piece of popcorn at the television set in frustration and shut it off. Nothing but snow and static. He couldn't get a single station. Oh well, he needed to go downstairs and see if his mother needed help in the kitchen anyway. He kicked aside some laundry and opened the door, peeking into the small but neat hallway. It was empty, but he could hear the sounds and catch the scents of the kitchen downstairs. He stepped out of the room, absently working his wrist. He'd bandaged it up the best way he knew how, with some antibiotic cream just in case. He shook a few stray strands of dark hair from his eyes, yawned, and started to close his door, then stopped with a frown.  
  
Something had moved in there.  
  
For one wild moment, he thought back to his mother's warnings that if he didn't clean his room, it was going to start breeding its own life forms. Kento swallowed and carefully crept back inside, bare feet soundless on the threadbare rug that covered part of his floor. He went dead silent, holding his breath to listen. Something was definitely breathing, and it sounded like it was coming from under the slightly sunken, unkempt bed. Navy eyes narrowed and he reached out to firmly grip the practice bo that had been leaning next to the headboard. Slowly, cautiously, he knelt, one hand ready to strike out with the weapon. A pair of large brown eyes peeked back at him. Kento blinked and quickly put the bo down, plopping on his belly to better see his interloper. "Chun Fa? Aren't you supposed to be at school?" he asked softly, reaching one rounded hand under the bed, palm up. "I thought you were a space invader or something!" The child didn't reach for it, curling up and hugging her knees. Kento could barely see her.she was a mere outline in the dim light. "I don't wanna go to school," she replied quietly, closing her eyes. Kento blinked and lifted up the bedframe enough for him to start squirming under the bed next to his sister, who opened her eyes and blinked at him. He was far too large and the bed more or less rested on his back, tilting lazily this way and that. He smiled, wiggling up next to her and resting his chin on laced fingers. "You liked school last week, you said it was fun," he started softly, watching his little sister. She was usually so cheerful and enthusiastic. "Not any more," Chun Fa murmured, her voice muffled behind her knees. "Keichi an' his friends are picking on me." Her eyes shot up to him challengingly. "And don't you dare say it's because they like me, cuz it's not true, an' I hate it when people say that! Besides, Suki is a girl, an' she's part of Keichi's gang too!" Kento nodded his head, a bit taken aback by her vehemence. "Alright, ChunChun, I won't say it. I know it's not always the case, don't hurt me!" Chun Fa went quiet again. Kento frowned. Usually, her nickname got a rise out of her. He unfolded his hands and squirmed closer, the bed creaking dangerously. "Why don't you tell your teachers that you're being picked on?" "They don't do anything," she muttered bitterly. "They can't catch him an' the others doin' it." Then she turned those heartstoppingly depthless eyes on him, like big, dewey weapons. "Can't you come with me to school an' beat them up for me?" Kento coughed, his eyes suddenly finding great interest in a drifting dust bunny. "Now Chun Fa, you know that's not reasonable either," he admonished lightly, feeling like a cad anyway. He wasn't going to go beat up a bunch of elementary school kids, but he still felt a bit shortfallen as a big brother. "This is...more of a brains than brawn question," he admitted. "Uncle Rowen might be able to help you think of something.something that won't get you expelled." Hopeful words, those! The child smiled a little and scootched closer to burrow into Kento's side, hiding her face. "There's something else," she whispered, small, chubby fingers curling into Kento's shirt. "I had a dream last night. A really bad dream. I dreamed Keichi and the others hurt me. Not like they usually hurt me. But really- real hurt me, bad. Like in those movies mommy tells me I'm not s'posed to watch." Kento frowned and stroked her pigtails. "That's gotta be some dream, kiddo," he murmured gently. "Can I sleep in here with you tonight?" she asked suddenly, looking up at him with tear filled eyes. "I promise I'll be quiet!" Kento blinked and scratched his ear, then smiled a bit reluctantly. "Sure, Chun Fa," he relented. "But only if you go to school. Mom'd absolutely explode if she knew you hadn't gone. How did you manage to sneak back in from the bus stop, anyway?" The little girl grinned, flashing a not quite whole smile due to missing teeth. "That's my secret," she whispered conspiratorially, putting one chubby finger to Kento's lips. He blinked, his eyes sort of crossing as he looked down at her hand, then he chuckled and scruffed her hair. "Fine, you can have your secrets..let's just get you to school!" 


	3. Foreboding

PART 1.3 FOREBODING  
  
Nicole let her slender hand fall away from the curtain with a soft hiss of skin brushing across sheer fabric. Her fever had broken around noon, and she had steadily felt better since. She, Sai, and Rowen had been passing the time swapping stories and playing board games while they waited for Sage to come home from work. They waited. And waited. They tried to call the clinic only to find the phones were down for some reason. So, they had waited some more. Now, the sun was letting its last dying rays fade away, the brilliant colors of sunset muting to the cooler shades of midnight and violet on the horizon. Sage was never late, and he always stopped by the house before heading off to teach kendo. Surely he hadn't been absent there as well? She began to worry. "Checkmate," Rowen yawned, knocking aside Sai's white king. "Sixteenth time in a row. Wanna have another round?" Sai groaned and leaned back in his chair, fingers lacing behind his head. "Yeah, like I want to have a lobotomy," he smirked. "Let's do something else. Something I can win at, maybe?" "Sore loser," Rowen snorted before glancing over at the forlorn looking little Date. "Relax, Spooky, he'll come home. He probably got tied up in traffic or something. Or maybe he had a hot, secret date!" Sai did what Nicole couldn't reach Rowen to do and kicked him under the table. "You're thinking vicariously again," the brunette grinned, knowing his friend all too well. Nicole giggled appreciatively, then went back to gazing out the window. Pale green eyes turned upwards, catching sight of the enormous flower of color in the clear sky. So that was what Rowen was all in a tizzy about. She barely had time to begin to think it was sort of pretty when the wave of nausea hit her and she jerked the curtain closed, swallowing hard to keep from being sick. Rowen looked to her and frowned, rising from his chair, but she waved him off. "I guess I'm just pushing myself a bit is all," she smiled reassuringly at him and curled into the blankets, closing her eyes and trying to ignore the lingering, burning sting in her throat. She had always been highly empathic, to a degree even Sage couldn't reach. Had that been a moment of genuine illness or a surge of energies so negative as to make her physically ill? The thought fled her mind as someone knocked at the door. Rowen, already on his feet, left to answer it. She could faintly hear voices coming from the living room. Her heart sank when she realized the new voice was not her cousin's. Yet, it was familiar. A dusky-topped, spring loaded missile bounced in the door and all but tackled Sai from his chair, making the poor boy squawk and flail for balance. Nicole smiled. Kento, of course. The big Fuan plucked the slighter figure from his seat and hugged him until she could hear audible pops. Sai gasped and struggled, kicking uselessly at his overenthusiastic friend's legs. "Put me down, you big ox!!" he cried. "I can't bloody well breathe!" Kento grinned and simply opened his arms, dumping Sai awkwardly on his rear. He sat there a moment, rubbing his ribs, then looked up and laughed. "I'm glad to see you too, but you've got to find a less violent way to greet people!" Kento rubbed the back of his head and chuckled, then blinked when he saw Nicole. "Spooky! I didn't see you there for a minute," he stammered slightly. Nicole tried not to giggle. He could be so cute, but she didn't want to offend him by laughing at his genuine efforts. "How am I feeling? I mean, how are you feeling?" he blushed slightly at the blunder, quietly cursing himself. Nicole just smiled at him and motioned a pale hand towards the flowers, now on her bedstand and carefully vased and watered. "Thank you," she beamed. "That was very thoughtful of you, and I love the colors." "Geh hee!" was more or less the sound he made, still rubbing the back of his head and grinning like an idiot. "You're welcome, I." "Your arm!" Nicole cried softly and reached for his bandaged forearm, gently bringing it where she could see it. Kento swallowed and let her. "It's nothing," he said quietly. "A stray cat or something bit me last night." "'Or something?'" Nicole gave him a concerned, disapproving look. "Especially if you don't even know what it was, you should go to a doctor immediately! It may have had rabies or something. Promise me you'll go, or have Sage look at it when he comes home, okay?" Well, who could say no to that? Kento nodded and gently took his arm back. "It would seem we have nearly a full house this evening," came a soft voice from the doorway. "Sage!" Nicole cried and tossed the covers off, bolting to her cousin to throw her arms around him in relief. The blonde man blinked and hugged her gently, setting his palm to her forehead. "Your fever is gone," he commented, smiling. Nicole looked up at him and frowned slightly. His ambiguously colored eyes seemed to be more grey than blue or green at the moment, and at this proximity, she could sense he had been terribly drained. "What?" he blinked. "We've been trying to reach you for hours. What happened? Why didn't you come home?" she asked softly, those pale emeralds searching his face.perhaps deeper. Sage sighed deeply and led her back towards bed, stepping around the upset chess board Kento had dumped in his greeting. "I've had quite the day, sweet one," he murmured, tucking her back in before turning to the others, arms crossing habitually. "I think something is going on..something that may require our attention." "No kidding," Rowen rolled his eyes heavenward and flopped into a chair, legs straight out and crossed at the ankles. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed yet." "Noticed what?" Sage asked. Kento sat up and took notice as well. "Geh," Rowen scratched his head and leaned back. "I can't really put my finger on it, but something is definitely happening." "How typically vague of you," Sage replied wearily with an uncharacteristically bitter tone. "Craaaa-aaanky," Rowen gave him a cool, sidelong glance before continuing. Sage looked away, guilty. Tired or no, he should speak kindly to his friends. "What's your problem, anyway?" "The clinic was..swamped, to say the least," Sage admitted, one hand to his temple tiredly. "There seems to have been a bizarre number of injuries and accidents, and quite a few deaths as a result. They don't seem to have any common link.just.a very large number of apparently freak accidents. They all seemed to have happened some time in the night or early morning, however." Rowen and Sai exchanged glances. "Sage," Sai spoke up softly. "Our armor spheres have been acting strangely." He cast his eyes from Kento to Sage and back again. "What about you two?" Kento blinked and reached into his pocket to retrieve his. He didn't carry it with him on a regular basis, not since things had calmed down, anyway. His fingers nonetheless contacted the cool, smooth surface of the orb. They were always wherever they were needed, it would seem. He drew it out into the open, holding it in his palm. Sage had done the same. Both were pulsing with a slow, steady blush of light, Kento's flooding his fingers with rich orange while Sage's flashed cool veridian. Sage held his a long moment before closing pale fingers over the sphere. "It's just too much of a coincidence," he sighed, closing his eyes and leaning heavily against the wall. "We are being called back to arms once more. Perhaps the Dynasty is reawakening.perhaps something else is going on. But this is a definite sign." "I'm pretty sure that freaky star amoeba thing," Sai began, but stopped at an absolutely deadly glare from Rowen. "Excuse me, supernova that has appeared is somehow connected." "I'm starting to think that it may not be a nova at all," Rowen confessed, scratching his head. "I dunno about you guys, but I get a really creepy feeling whenever I look at it, and I like that kind of stuff." Nicole looked up with a blink. "Then it wasn't just me?" she asked in a quiet voice. "Do you sense something?" Sage asked, pushing off from the wall and coming to sit on the edge of the bed. Spooky nodded, tucking a stray lock of red hair behind her ear. "Strongly, Sage," she sighed and hugged herself, shivering slightly. "So strongly it makes me ill to even look at it." Kento watched Nicole, and he found his hand had closed so tightly about his orb that his palm ached. "So can't we do something about the damn thing?" he demanded. "If you can reach out trillions of miles into space and somehow manage to pummel an enormous cloud of gas and heat, be my guest," Rowen laughed. "If it really is a nova, or anything like it, there's no possible way we could get rid of it." "I refuse to believe we're helpless!" Kento snarled, both hands curling into fists. "If something bad is really happening, we should be able to do something about it! And if we can't do anything about it, then why would our orbs be blinking like that, huh? Why would they bother?" "It could just be that they react to evil," Sai suggested. "Maybe they aren't really trying to indicate that we should be using them."  
  
"Perhaps," Sage replied, stroking back Nicole's hair before standing. "At any rate, this is something we definitely need to think on. I'm guessing that when I go in to the clinic tomorrow, there will be a whole new slew of patients.and more death. Until we know more, the most that I, for one, can do, is to try and help those who fall victim." With that, he disappeared, headed for a badly needed hot shower and even more importantly, bed. "Oh jeez!" Kento cried suddenly, making everyone jump. "What time is it?!" "Er.creeping up on nine, I think," Sai replied, glancing at his watch. "H- hey! Where are you going?" "I have a promise to keep!" he called back as he rushed out the door. Sai gave Rowen a puzzled look. Hashiba just shrugged, spreading his thin hands. "I'm going to see what information I can scare up," he said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket. "Sai, you see if you can't get ahold of Ryo. Tell him to get his butt over here as soon as possible." Sai nodded and turned to Nicole with a kind smile. "Get well soon, okay?" he told her. "We'll be back tomorrow morning, and tomorrow night, I'll cook for you and the guys!" "Kento and Rowen will like that, won't you, Rowen?" Nicole giggled. Ro rubbed the back of his head and flashed her a wide grin. "Take care, Nicole," he tugged Sai towards the door. "See you tomorrow!" Nicole smiled and nestled under the covers as they left. She lay in silence for a long moment, listening to the distant sound of water running somewhere. It was a soothing kind of sound, one that reminded her that she wouldn't be alone in the house tonight. Slowly, that steady, muted rushing sound would lull her into troubled dreams. 


	4. Nightmares

PART 1.4 NIGHTMARES  
Kento awoke with a jerk, sleep chased away swiftly by the surge of panicked adrenaline rushing instinctually through his body. It took him a few precious seconds for lucidity to return enough for him to realize what had awakened him. Chun Fa was screaming, shrieking in short, frantic notes, her body thrashing about, kicking the blankets free. He snatched the child into his arms and shook her.  
"Chun Fa!!" he cried. "Chun Fa, wake up! It's just a dream, Chun Fa, come on kid, wake up!!"  
Her eyes snapped open, her body going rigid and still for a few seconds before she dissolved into tears, burrowing tightly into Kento. He sighed and sat up, rocking her gently back and forth, thick fingers stroking through baby-soft tresses soothingly. He waited until her hysteria died away into whimpering before trying to talk to her.  
"Bad dreams, Chun Chun," he murmured quietly to the sobbing little girl. "They're just bad dreams."  
"I know," she whimpered. "But they're so real. They even hurt."  
"What's hurting you, hmm? You wanna talk about it?"  
"I told you, it's Keichi and the others. They hurt me at school, but in the dreams, they." she trailed off, burrowing tightly and going quiet for a moment. "They're trying to kill me, Onii-san. They turn into monsters and try to kill me."  
"They wouldn't really kill you, I'm sure," he sighed, though his brows had knit in concern. Maybe it was time this was taken to his parents. If these kids were being so cruel to his sister at school that she was having nightmares of this magnitude, something most certainly needed to be done. Chun Fa didn't seem so sure, and clung to him tightly, shaking. "Besides," he continued with a soft smile, "Monsters aren't real."  
". . . ."  
"Even if they were, I'd beat them alllllll up!" he grinned and poked her gently. She squirmed and smiled, just a little bit.  
"I don't wanna go back to sleep," she whispered. Kento glanced at the clock and sighed.  
"Chun Chun, it's four in the morning," he murmured, giving her a little squeeze. "It's too early for little girls to be up, even if tomorrow *is* Saturday." Tomorrow, of course, being a relative term this early in the day. Technically it already *was* Saturday. He snuggled back down into the covers, curling around Chun Fa and cuddling her close. She nestled into his warmth, her trembling beginning to subside, those horrible images fading from her mind's eye. She was determined not to go back to sleep, however, and stared off into the darkness. Kento just watched her for a little while, then began to hum softly, rubbing her back gently. Chun Fa's eyes began to close despite her most valiant efforts. Soon enough, her breathing had steadied into the slow, deep rhythm of sleep. Kento slowly reached out to open his nightstand drawer and draw out his armor orb. The room filled with a dim, orange glow. Fading. Growing. Waxing. Waning. The light was drowned out as he closed his fingers and snuggled back down, the hand clutching the sphere resting behind Chun Fa's back as he draped an arm back over her and closed his eyes. Soon enough, he would be asleep. And.Chun Fa would have no more dreams that night.  
  
The summer afternoon was pleasantly warm, but not hot. A steady breeze rippled in shining waves across the grass, bringing with it the warm, earthy scent of recent rains and growing things. The sounds of playing children could be heard in the near distance, broken by the steady thrum of traffic further out. Rowen took a deep breath and looked up at the cottony cumulus clouds drifting in slowly changing patterns across a smoothly azure sky. His arms were crossed behind his head, ankle rested to opposite knee, a fuzzy-ended stalk caught between his teeth. Sai lay to his right, a recovered Nicole to his left. "Can't get in contact with Ryo, then?" Rowen asked, the stalk in his mouth barely moving. "No," Sai replied quietly, keeping his eyes on the sky. "Not so much as a peep. He doesn't seem to have been home in a while, to boot. I wonder where he went?" "We've fallen a little out of contact," Rowen sighed. "I just hope we can get in touch with him soon." "It's hard to believe, on a beautiful day like this, that anything bad could happen," Nicole smiled as she gazed up at the endless spread of blue and white before her. In the day, that horrible blot of color was wiped from the sky.a comfort to her sensibilities. "You can't even see it." "Ah, but we know it's still there, waiting for us," Sai reminded her. "What about you Rowen? Any luck on your end?" "Well," the blue haired man scratched his nose. He didn't like having to admit that he'd failed. "I'm...still working on that, if you must know." Silence followed. It was a frustrating and desperate dilemma. "There aren't many children out today," Sai commented. "It's a large park in a central neighborhood, and it's Saturday." "People are afraid to go out with all the incidents happening," Rowen explained, a sour tone to his voice. "Hey, we'll figure something out," Nicole reached to touch his shoulder. Rowen turned his head and smiled at her. "You're never down for long, are you." he commented. Nicole giggled softly. "GYACK!!" Rowen suddenly squawked as something pounced onto his stomach. "Rooooweeeeeeen!" came a happy little cry. Ro found himself with a double armful of Chun Fa. "Hey kiddo!" Ro chuckled and scruffed her hair. The child flashed a snaggle toothed grin and giggled, then pounced Sai and Nicole in turn. "Onii-san brought me out to play!" she took Rowen's hand and tugged. "Come play with me! You too!" she told the others. Rowen looked up to see Kento approaching. "Hey kid," he told the excited little girl. "Why don't you go play, and all of us will join you in a few minutes, okay? We have boring, big-people things to discuss." Chun Fa made a face and nodded, then ran off, pigtails bouncing as she went. "Hey guys!" Kento greeted, plopping beside Sai. "Any luck?" "No, on both fronts," Sai said, sitting up on his elbows. "That's encouraging," Kento snorted, earning an acid glare from Hashiba. "So what do we do, spend another day sitting on our hands?" "I'm afraid we haven't got a choice, Kento," Nicole replied softly. Kento's impending irritation deflated and he rubbed the back of his head, looking away. Sai and Rowen looked at eachother and grinned. "Uh, so," Kento murmured, still looking away. "Where's Sage?" "He chose to spend his day off working," Nicole replied sadly. "There were more accidents last night.but fewer survivors. They seem to be getting more deadly. How's your arm?" "Huh? Oh, it's better," he replied. "It itches though." "That means it's healing.don't scratch it" she told him with a smile. "I still think you should get it looked at.you ran off last night before I could tell Sage to examine it." "Eh, I feel fine. Don't worry about it." "So you gonna come over for dinner tonight?" Rowen grinned at Kento, a glint of challenge shimmering beneath those cobalt brows. Kento gave the look right back. "I wouldn't miss it," he chuckled. "May the best stomach win!" "Oh no," Nicole groaned, covering her face with her hands. "You guys, don't start this again! Remember what happened last time?" "Relax!" Rowen waved her off. "That was a one-time mistake! We won't ever do that again. Besides, this time around we won't have the blowtorch and case of lingerie." "And the goat," Sai piped. "Don't forget the goat." "Right," Ro nodded wisely. Nicole just sighed in exasperation and turned away, crossing her arms. "Anyway, there's nothing more we can do for now.let's go see what the squirt's up to, hmm?" "Yes, then let's do the shopping for dinner before dark," Sai said. "I don't think it's wise to be out once the sun goes down." "Indeed," Ro nodded and got to his feet, brushing loose grass off his pants and heading off towards the playground. "I'm gonna go play with the squirt. Tomorrow, I'll see if I have better luck digging up information." His pale face grew sober, his eyes narrowing slightly. "We have to make the darkness safe again."  
  
Sage slipped into the break room and wiped his tired face with a cool white cloth, fingers brushing back clinging strands of blonde from his forehead. Fewer people had come into the clinic today, but those that had spilled in were so much more severely wounded than before. Sage feared that the reason would be because those affected by the disturbances had simply not survived. The police force was baffled, and as the incidents began to spread, several cities declared a state of emergency. All manner of explanations had been forwarded through the finicky television transmissions. Magnetic interference, a holy sign from above, a strange new disease, aliens, and it only grew more farfetched from there. He hadn't had time to look at the news often, but he'd heard rumors that this wasn't just happening in Japan.it was worldwide. If some centralized evil really was to blame for this, it was either incredibly fast moving or it had a very extensive, carefully synchronized force. Sage refused to believe this was simply misfortune, or that the "accidents" were really that. Someone or something was orchestrating this. But who? To what end ? "Sage!" came a shrill cry from the hallway. He turned to see Yayoi standing in the doorway. "Sage, we need you, a really bad case has been brought in.Mom can't hold her down and work on her at the same time and I can't do it myself. She's going wild and we can't calm her down.she needs help now or she'll die!" Sage blinked and bolted. "Where is she? Take me!" Yayoi led him quickly down the hall to an exam room. He could hear the screams before he even got inside. The woman was in shocking condition. Her face and chest were covered in blood, her hair singed completely away on one side, her shredded, burnt, and bloodied clothing barely holding together. With a touch of startled revulsion, Sage realized he could see right through one mangled cheek to the blood-tinged molars beneath. Her screams were doubly piercing in the enclosed room, the sound having nowhere to go. His mother was speaking sternly to her and trying to hold down one arm long enough to get a morphine drip going. Sage ran to one side of the woman while Yayoi took the other side. Sage was amazed she even had the strength to fight, being in the condition that she was. The second he laid hands to her, an empathic wave of pain, terror, and grief ran through him. He fought it back, mentally walling himself off. This would be a very bad time to succumb to such feelings. Between the two siblings, they managed to still her enough for Dr. Date to start working on her. As the drugs began to take effect, her horrible screams began to die away, though she was still obviously in great pain. He looked up and caught his mother's eye. She looked back at him, her face tense, and shook her head. This woman had no chance. "Yayoi, come," Dr. Date stepped away. "We have other patients to attend. "But Mother!" ". . ." Yayoi let her objections fall and nodded reluctantly. Dr. Date was saying, in essence, that the woman was going to die no matter their efforts, and she refused to waste time here when there were lives she could be saving. She would leave the room with her mother, leaving it up to Sage to wrap things up. He looked to the woman, examining her wounds more closely. A good number of them seemed to be bite marks, of all things. If they were that, however, whatever had bitten her had to have had very wide jaws, judging by the size of the crescent marks. "Mika!! Toshio!!" she shrieked suddenly, making Sage jump. "It killed them! It killed my babies! My children are dead! God, what *is* that thing! No! Don't hurt them! Don't-" Her hysterical screams stopped suddenly, maddened eyes going blank. Sage held his breath, waiting and watching.perhaps she would say something more, something useful. A few moments of silence passed.then he realized what should have been obvious: the woman had died. Troubled, Sage pulled the sheet up over her head. She had been beyond saving. He was, nonetheless, struck with a feeling of profound failure. 


	5. The Jungle King

PART 1.5 THE JUNGLE KING!  
  
Cooking sherry. It always started out with cooking sherry. It always ended, however, with sake. More importantly, it always ended badly.  
  
Even more importantly, it always began with Rowen.  
  
"Nu uh", "Sai stammered as he reached for a bowl of rice. With Sage working late yet again, they had taken over his kitchen. As soon as dinner was done and the alcohol began to pour, Nicole had fled to her room on pretense of needing more sleep after her illness. Most of the food was gone by now. Kento had won the eating bet by a very small margin, only, (so Rowen had said) because he'd skipped lunch. Kento called him a sore loser, of course. That had been hours ago. "Aw come on, Sai," Rowen urged him, flopping a comradely arm about the brunette's shoulders. "One more won't kill ya." "No more," Sai moaned, pushing away the drink Rowen was offering in lieu of the rice. "I think I'd like my next taste of rice to be the unfermented kind, please." He peered up at Rowen, azure eyes narrowing in blatant suspicion. "And why exactly are you so damn insistent on shoving more of that horrible stuff down my throat, eh? You like it far better than I, yet I haven't seen you touch a drop! Just how much has Kento had, for that matter?" Rowen scratched his head and rolled his eyes innocently towards the ceiling. "You're too cruel!" he exclaimed, spreading his hands in an exaggerated shrug. "To think that I would be up to something. To think that I would purposefully inebriate my friends while I remained sober, to think that." "Rowen.." "What?" "Where's Kento?" "Um," Rowen stepped a little further away from Sai. "Last I saw him, he was in the kitchen." "The kitchen?! Doing what?" Sai demanded, getting quickly to his feet. "The food is out here, and he can't cook, so." Before this could go any further, the kitchen door was kicked open and a very drunken Kento stumbled out, wearing only a dishtowel and a colander, and howling something about being the jungle king. "MY EYES!!" Sai fell out of his chair and hit the floor writhing and clutching at his eyeballs. "OH GOD MY EYES!! DAMN YOU ROWEN!!" "Heh," Rowen calmly reached under the table and pulled out a camera, snapping a quick picture before tucking it away again. "Now that's even worse than last time. My revenge for losing that fifty bucks will be carried out," he shook a fist in the air, his voice dramatically sonorous. "Once he's sober anyway. And why are you blaming me, I just got him drunk enough to do it, that's all." "What's going on in h-ROWEN!!" Nicole came upon the sight, turned beet red, and turned around so fast her hair whipped painfully across Ro's cheek. "Owwww," he whined, rubbing at his cheek with pale fingers. "How come everyone always starts blaming me?" "Because you're always the one who really is to blame," Sai piped up, and promptly got kicked in the ribs by an innocently grinning Rowen as he tried to placate the smoldering Nicole. Kento continued to stagger about, bellowing like something out of a bad movie and almost stepping on Sai, who was laughing too hard to get up off the floor.  
  
Nicole had to take action. Again. Agreements were reached, payment discussed, and an unhappy Rowen walked off to finally get himself as drunk as he could. Nobody could chew someone out quite like Nicole. Kento had long since passed out on the couch, still in his.ensemble. Sai hadn't been too far behind him, curled up in front of the television, which seemed to have decided to actually work tonight. Spooky covered both with blankets before going back to bed herself, leaving Rowen to his own guilty devices.  
  
Sage had come home at some point during the listless twilight hours of dawn, after even Rowen had managed to fall asleep. His presence was given away by the crowded set of keys that had been tossed on the dining room table. Nicole had found his bloodstained coat in the laundry room, merely flung atop the washing machine and left there. Usually, Sage was adamant about cleaning that thing for obvious reasons. She was growing ever more worried about him. Her concern would only deepen when, well into the afternoon, Rowen came stumbling into the kitchen rather than her cousin. Sage was an early riser, at least, he usually was. "Java," the pale man moaned as he sank into a chair. "Java..black.now.." "We haven't got anything like that," Nicole replied coolly as she sipped her own afternoon tea. "Everyone else has been up for hours. I have no sympathy for you at all." "You're a cruel woman," Rowen let his forehead fall to the table with a thump. That was a mistake, and he fought down waves of dizzied nausea. He must have looked as bad as he felt. He hadn't bothered changing, and had slept in his clothes, which were now twisted and magnificently wrinkled. Deep sapphire eyes were dull and bloodshot, the marks under his eyes rivaling Nicole's. His nearly trademark headband had come off sometime in the night, leaving that wild nest of blue to spray in every which direction it pleased. He'd have to hunt down his favorite accessory later, once he could walk straight. "It's quiet in here. Where is everyone?" "Kento and Sai went shopping to replace the food you guys ate last night," she replied, pushing a cup of tea towards him. "This will help." "I'm surprised Kento could even stand to walk," Rowen took the tea with one hand, making a face. "He must be a far stouter drunk than I." "He's only a drunk when you push it on him," Nicole replied in a dangerous tone. Ro took the hint and fell quiet, sipping his tea and avoiding that flashing emerald gaze. "So uh.Sage at work?" "No, he's asleep," Nicole replied in a quiet voice, gazing down into her teacup. "He came home around dawn. I think he was at the clinic the entire time." She sighed and ran her fingers through crimson tresses, biting her lip. "Things must be getting bad. Very bad." "I guess it's too much to hope whatever this is is just gonna pass us by, eh?" Rowen took a sip of his tea and stuck out his tongue. "Ugh, what's in this?" "Medicine," Nicole murmured absently. "And I don't think so. I think we're going to have to take action." "Action against what? There's nothing to fight! It's just a bunch of people tripping over themselves and happening to land on scissors and crap like that. It's like, National Klutz Week or something." Nicole was silent for a long moment, staring back into her tea. "Are people tripping into the scissors, so to speak," she explained softly. "Or are they being pushed into them?" "Someone would have said something by now," Rowen shrugged. "If there was some sicko out there cutting people's brake lines and pushing them down stairs, someone would have seen him by now, don't you think?" "Someone has seen him," came a soft, tired voice from the doorway. Rowen and Nicole both looked up to see a fatigued looking Sage approaching the table. He took a seat and slid down into it with a heavy, unusually graceless flop. "You're kidding," Rowen blinked. "You've got to be, because I sure as hell was!" "But it's true," Sage answered, rubbing his face with his hands as he tried to wake up a bit more. "A woman at the clinic told me so..right before she died. She was ranting about something killing her children. I checked into it later and found her entire household had been murdered by someone unknown." "Someone? Maybe it was an animal or something," Rowen suggested. "Animals can't pick up and throw kitchen knives, Rowen," Sage replied with a kind of irritated raise of tone. "The youngest child was pinned to the wall with what had to be every blade in the whole damn house." Nicole made a small, startled sound. "How the hell did you get in, anyhow? Murder scenes aren't open to everyone who walks in off the street," Rowen asked, though any trace of joviality had drained from his voice. "There were over five hundred and twelve murders in this one district last night alone," Sage replied quietly. "The police hadn't even gotten to that neighborhood yet, they were so overwhelmed. I got the woman's address from the neighbor that brought her in." "Isn't that illegal?" Ro asked with a sidelong look, taking a sip of tea. "I think the situation is severe enough that I'm willing to break a few rules." "Dear God," Nicole bowed her head, eyes staring at the table. "Over five hundred people.and.children.children.who would do such a thing?" "It has to be the work of more than one entity, then," Rowen said, becoming all business. "There's too much happening at once for it to be just one guy." "Indeed," Sage sighed. "And tonight will be even worse." "How do you figure?" "Well, look at what has happened so far," Sage began to tally on his fingers. "It began as a series of 'accidents' that led to just a few deaths. With each passing night, more people die, and the less it looks like accidents and more like murder. Whoever is doing this is either getting sloppy, impatient." ".or confident," Rowen finished in a chillingly clinical voice, his eyes half-closing as he sat in silence, digesting the limited amount of information they had before them. "..or confident," Sage repeated. "Though these incidents seem to happen mainly at night. I think a dusk curfew needs to be placed into effect. That will cut down on it a little bit." "I'm sure some higher-up already thought of that," Rowen replied, trying in vain to pick his hair back into place with his fingers. "But with the phones, radio, and TV all screwed up, it'll be hard to get that kind of widespread message out effectively. From what you've told me, the police are overwhelmed as it is." "Then I suppose that leaves it up to us to figure things out and bring a stop to it," Sage stated blandly. "Hey, it's our job to play hero, right?" Rowen asked with a grin that he didn't really feel. "Right," Sage sighed. "Our job. Then where shall we start?" 


	6. Family First

PART 1.6 FAMILY FIRST  
  
"NO SCHOOL! NO SCHOOL!" was the enthusiastic cry taken by the younger children of the Fuan household as they poured back in from the bus stop come Monday morning. Mrs. Fuan blinked, her spoon pausing over the pot she'd been about to stir.  
"I just sent you out!" she cried, "Who said there was no school? I never got a note!"  
"The bus driver said so!" one boy piped, plunging his fingers into a soft bean bun to get at the insides before his mother thwapped him soundly on the knuckles with her spoon.  
"Yeah!," chirped an older, less adventurous soul who kept his hands to himself despite the temptation of the morning restaurant fare lying sprawled about the kitchen. "He said we were in a state of 'mergency."  
"What's that mean?" one of the other children asked curiously.  
"States are something to do with America," he replied with a wise nod. "You'll learn that when you get as old as me!"  
"What does America have to do with us not going to school today?"  
"Shhh," Mrs. Fuan finally interrupted them, frowning, her fists coming to rest on ample hips as she perused the faces before her. "Alright, alright! So there's no school today. I'll have your father bring home a paper.must have something to do with the phones and things not working. Where is Chun Fa? I know she went out with you."  
"She's prolly in the bathroom or something," the first boy suggested before grabbing the already mangled bean bun and sprinting for it. Oooh, he was going to pay for that later! A stern look quickly discouraged anyone else from following in his footsteps.  
"The rest of you had best find something to keep yourselves busy or I'll gladly put you to work! Shoo!" The children scattered at that very real threat, and Mrs. Fuan would go back to cooking. When Chun Fa had still not shown up, and did not seem to be anywhere in the house, she finally became concerned and raised a hearty voice towards the ceiling.more specifically, towards her eldest son's room. "KEEEEEEEENTOOOOO!!"  
  
"Mngh," Kento pulled his well-loved pillow over his head. He, Sai, and Rowen had spent nearly all of Sunday evening poking around the emptied streets looking for clues or culprits. They had found nothing. He had crawled into bed less than three hours ago. To his weary body, it felt more like three seconds ago. He loved his mother dearly, but when he was this tired, he could think of so many sweeter sounds to hear than that unmistakable 'I have a job for you to do' cry. He tried to convince himself that he didn't really hear her, that it had been part of a bad dream, and he could go back to sleep, and-  
"KEEEEEENTOOOOO!" Dammit.  
"COMING MOMMA!!" he bawled back, moving the pillow aside and yawning something awful. After a few false starts, he oozed his way out of his bed, into his clothes, out the door, and down the stairs. His mother was waiting for him in the kitchen, eyeing him with a sharp, critical gaze.  
"And where were you last night?" she demanded as she took in his tired, unkempt form.  
"Umn," he yawned and scratched his side thoughtfully. His brain was churning extra sluggishly this morning. "With the guys, Momma. Rowen an' them."  
"Tch!" she admonished. "You didn't even let me know they were in town! You haven't invited them over or anything!" her train of thought took a sharp turn. "And just what were you boys doing out so late?"  
"Er," he replied intelligently. He couldn't quite bring himself to tell the truth. How was he supposed to explain it, anyway? Even he wasn't sure just what they were looking for. "Stuff.?" he mumbled finally. "Guy stuff, Ma.that's all."  
"Hnph!" she replied, but let it drop, moving on to the heart of things. "School was cancelled today for some reason. Chun Fa didn't come back inside with the other children. The phones are down, so I can't call her friend's house to see if she went to go play there, and I can't abandon the kitchen. Would you please go see if she's just playing at Kiore or Yuki's? I'd feel better knowing."  
"Huh? Sure, will do," Kento blinked and straightened, waking up a bit more. He knew Chun Fa had probably tried to skip school again. He wouldn't give her away, but he certainly needed to talk with her about it.  
"Thank you dear," she tossed him three eggrolls and he grinned appreciatively. "Be back soon!"  
"Okay Momma," he waved at her and popped an eggroll in his mouth, munching as he headed out the door to find his sister.  
  
Chun Fa liked being at the park all by herself. She didn't have to wait in line to play on the swing or slide, and nobody could tell her when to come inside. She could hang upside down from the jungle gym and nobody would pull at her pigtails. Nobody could tell her not to run so fast, or to get out of thier way, or anything! Hiding was easy, since the park was enclosed by trees on all sides, and the equipment was far enough away from the trails that she could easily see people coming. All she had to do was hide if a grown up came down the jogging path. She hadn't gotten caught even once, and she was starting to feel bolder and more secure. Her backpack was filled daily with toys and snacks rather than books and homework. She'd turned skipping school into a fine art, as far as she was concerned.  
Currently, she was perched on the merry go round, industriously making mud pies for the increasingly dirty raccoon plushie leaned against the opposite side. The surface of the merry go round was absolutely filthy, with caked and dried mud on the outer edges and fresher, goopier stuff in the center, where most of the work was done. Chun Fa herself was a sight to see, the skirt hem of her uniform lined with dried and crackled mud, bare legs absolutely coated with the stuff, and her shoes unrecognizable as anything but vaguely foot-shaped globs of brown. She scratched her nose, leaving behind a generous blob of artistic ooze as her small face scrunched in concentration. A fresh cake of carefully sculpted mud patty plopped down with an appropriately rude sound before its furry recipient. She smiled in satisfaction and rubbed her hands on the front of her uniform, sliding down from the rounded platform. She needed more mud. It was getting scarcer, since it hadn't rained in well over a week, and she found herself delving deeper into the trees to acquire her favorite artistic medium.  
"You stay here an' eat up!" she shook a dirty little finger at the stuffed toy before scampering to the trees, picking her way through foliage and undergrowth that became thicker the further she strayed from the jogging trail. The plot of trees was not enormous, but only the outer edges were well maintained. The core within was full of brambles and thick, unchecked vines and weeds that choked at the trees and blocked away the daylight. Here, safe from direct sunlight and all but the harshest breezes, mud would last for weeks. She didn't like the smell back here, however. This part of the park smelled of old, standing water and rotting leaves, and each step disturbed swarms of gnats and mosquitoes and grey, scuttling insects that fled too fast for her to identify. Her usual mudholes were exhausted, and she struck out a bit further. It didn't take her long to find a nice, big mud puddle thriving beneath the shade of a tight knot of saplings absolutely netted and tangled with broad- leafed vines. She paused for a moment, tilting her head at the thick stand of vegetation and thinking to herself how much it looked like a messy- haired, yawning woman's head. The little concave place where the mud seemed to collect looked almost like a distended mouth. So much, in fact, that she hesitated before kneeling to start collecting her messy treasure. The mud squished delightfully between her fingers in smooth, slimy ribbons and she grinned. This was the good stuff! Her eyes, adjusting a bit to the darkness beyond the concave break in the trees, landed on something that caught her attention. It was a muddy but recognizable sneaker. Two, in fact. She let her eyes pan upwards.there were legs in those shoes. She squeaked in surprise and jumped, going from her knees to her bum in a single breath. It was a girl, maybe two years older than Chun Fa. She had pretty, jet black hair caught up in blue bows on either side of her head, and wore a scuffed and dirty school uniform. Dark eyes looked back at the smaller girl, but she didn't say anything, nor did she move. "H.hello," Chun Fa offered a smile. "Are you skipping school too?" The older girl slowly shook her head no. "You scared me! What are you doing way back here?" she asked, trying to peer closer into the darkness to get a better look at the girl. It was no use. The thick leaves made it nearly pitch within the stand of trees. Chun Fa just now noticed how utterly quiet the little wood had become. She decided the girl's eyes were creepy, as they didn't seem really focused on her and she hadn't seen her blink. She grew increasingly uneasy when the girl didn't answer. "I'm Chun Fa Fuan, what's your name?" No reply. "What grade are you in? Your uniform is different, you must go to a different school than me." Still, there was silence. She couldn't figure out whether to be offended or afraid. Afraid? Why should she be afraid? She was just a kid. Granted, she was older and bigger, but she was still just a girl. Something tickled the back of her mind, something she couldn't place. "Um," she rubbed the back of her head and stood, forgetting all about the mud. "I'm gonna go play.do you wanna come with me?" More silence. "Okay then," she shrugged and turned, heading off. "See you later!" She was about halfway back when that tickling feeling in the back of her mind rose again. She felt as though she was being watched and she stopped, turning.and screamed in shock. Had they been the same height, she would have been nose to nose with the other girl, who was very literally right on her heels. There couldn't have been more than two inches of space between the heels of Chun Fa's shoes and the toes of the other girl's sneakers. How had she been so quiet? Chun Fa swallowed and smiled nervously. "Did you change your mind?" she asked, trying to be friendly. The strange girl looked at her with those dull eyes for an uncomfortably long moment. "Play," the girl said slowly in a raspy, whispering voice. A pallid hand shot out to wrap icy fingers about Chun Fa's neck and lifted her, effortlessly, straight up without even bending her elbow. The smaller girl tried to scream, but found she couldn't breathe, and any effort to squeeze her tiny fingers between her neck and the girl's hand proved useless. She flailed her legs, panic rising sharply within her. "Play," the glassy-eyed girl croaked again, her head lolling strangely to one side. Her hair had covered what Chun Fa couldn't see before.half of her neck was simply gone, torn away in a jagged, bloodless semicircle. Fresh terror shot through her and she twisted violently.and she found herself free. The little girl scrambled desperately to her feet, cold fear knotting in her throat as she ran faster than she thought she ever could. Cold breath chilled along her ear, and a hoarse whisper came. "Play." That did it.she belted out a high pitched, long, loud shriek of utter, blind terror, hot tears spilling over chubby cheeks. She tripped on a root and tumbled violently forward, rolling head over heels. She was stunned a moment, then she gathered her senses and rolled to her feet, looking around in panic. She was outside the treeline. The girl was nowhere to be seen. Not a leaf stirred along the trail. She stared back the way she had come. A dream? A horrible, realistic daydream? No.her neck ached something terrible. Could one imagine pain? Perhaps.but she never had before. Something touched her from behind and she screamed, whirling. "Chun Fa!!" Kento blinked and knelt, startled at the look of pure fear on his little sister's face. She pounced and clung to him suddenly, sobbing loudly. He picked her up and held her, soothing her back and bouncing her lightly. "Hey, sshhh.what is it? What's wrong?" It took Kento a moment to realize that someone was laughing. It started out as a low, soft sound, but was quickly building to a high pitched, insane cackle that echoed through the trees. Kento growled softly and held his still weeping sister closer. "Who's there?!" he cried in irritation. He wasn't in the mood for games. "Did you do this to her? Come out!" "Wonder, wonder," came a hoarse, gleeful voice. "Wonder I does, what she'd taste like, I do!" Kento ground his teeth, angrier by the minute. What kind of jerk scared little kids like this? He'd love to seek him out and pummel his face into a pulp.but he had to get Chun Fa home. He didn't dare put her down and leave her alone under these circumstances. He hated to walk away from this, but he had to. He turned and strode off across the park. Something was coming up behind him, and fast. He sensed more than heard it, and he leapt away.the grass where he had been standing was now a deep gouge in the earth. Something dark blurred away into the trees. "Fast one, ye are, give ye that I will!" cackled the voice. Kento took a quick glance around. Nobody else was here, it would seem. "Shall we see just how fast ye be?" Leaves would burst from the undergrowth nearby and Kento jumped again. He landed and stumbled, blinking. His left shoe was missing the sole. It had been cut cleanly away. That might have been his foot, had he been any slower. Whatever his attacker was, it most certainly couldn't be human, could it? He glanced down at the trembling Chun Fa. Her face was hidden in his chest. Good. He shifted her to one arm and held out the other, navy eyes somberly trained on the foliage before him. The scent of cherry blossoms wafted briefly on the air, a quiet, orange glow, and the familiar, comforting weight of his weapon of choice gladly burdened his fingers. "Ahh," the voice crooned. "Ye be gettin' serious then? But I wouldn't dare, no, not yet. Ol' Deonus knows, now's not the time, no.but soon.yes.hee hee hee!! Soon." "Rrrrgh, just get out here and fight!!" Kento snarled. He was met with silence. "I said come on!!" "Onii-san." Chun Fa whispered pitifully. "I wanna go home." Kento went quiet. How could one argue with that? His opponent seemed to have either lost interest or left. He gave a regretful sigh and dismissed the mystical weapon with another flurry of petals. He'd take Chun Fa home, then go find the others. But family first. 


	7. The Carousel

PART 1.7 THE CAROUSEL  
  
Nicole and Sage had a very peculiar way of fighting with one another. Neither would raise their voice, and their movements remained calm and controlled. They were, however, very much so embroiled in a quarrel. Sai watched them from his seat at the kitchen table, oceanic eyes following each as they went through the motions of a typical morning. He couldn't decide whether to be amused or not by the whole affair, as to even his peaceful sensibilities, it seemed a bit odd to fight without.well.fighting. "I know you want to help Nicole, but you couldn't handle this. I don't mean you would be incompetent," Sage quickly saved himself from a dirty look. "I mean to say that, with your.talent, you would be on your knees in three seconds. You're far more sensitive than I am to such things." "Fine then, I'll admit that perhaps my empathy may overwhelm me and it might not be a wonderful idea for me to go in there.but why don't you at least stay home? You've had a total of eleven hours of sleep in the past three or four days," Nicole stated calmly as she started slicing up bread to make toast. Nicole was quite the rival for Sai in the realm of cooking, and preferred to make her own bread, butter, and assorted neccessities herself. "I've gone for longer before," Sage replied just as pleasantly as he laid out four plates. Rowen was never up in time for breakfast, but he always set a place anyhow, if for no other reason than the need to be a good host. "That doesn't make it alright," Nicole stood on tiptoes to reach for the drinking glasses on the top shelf of the cabinet, and Sage handed them to her without missing a beat. "Thank you. You'll do nobody any good if you collapse from exhaustion out there. You'll perform better at the clinic and stay healthy if you just take a day off to rest up. One day, that's all I'm asking." "There's too great a need," Sage switched jobs with his cousin wordlessly, and she poured the drinks while he finished up with the toast. "Yayoi and Mother most certainly haven't taken any time off, I should be there with them." "I'm disappointed in your mother then, she of all people should know her limits," Nicole chided gently and started putting the glasses on the table.leaving Rowen's empty, of course. "I slept for quite some time yesterday, remember?" "And you still look like death warmed over," Nicole went to take a bite of toast and paused just short of it, putting it back down and pushing it across the table to her cousin as though to make a point. "And you put fish paste instead of butter on the toast, dear." ". . ." Sai pushed his away with double distaste and put his head down on the table. He knew he shouldn't laugh, but there was something strangely amusing about the whole affair. He kept his snickers quiet. "You're tired, Sage," Nicole reached out to put a small hand over his own. Sage sat in silence for a few beats, then got up, leaving his breakfast untouched, and grabbed his now clean coat. "I'm sorry Nicole," he shook his head as he pulled the garment on. "I have to do this." With that, he snapped up his keys in one hand and strode out the door, letting it click softly behind him. Sai raised his head and glanced to Nicole, who was quietly gathering up the ruined toast. "He'll be alright," he offered a little smile. "He really is tougher than he looks, you know." "I know he's strong," Nicole sighed as she took the dishes to the sink, getting fresh ones to replace the toast with. "You all are. But you.and he.have limits. He's getting dangerously close to his." "OIII!!" Someone yelled suddenly, and the door trembled beneath a series of overenthusiastic blows. Nicole jumped, nearly dropping the plate she had been carrying. Sai rolled his eyes and got to his feet. "I'll get it," he offered, already heading for the noisily assaulted door. "That's Kento if I ever heard him." "Hurry up and lemmee in!!" Kento cried in agitation, nearly running right over poor Sai the second the door was opened. Sai closed the door and turned to look at him with wide eyes. Nicole came out of the kitchen, her arms behind her head as she pulled those long red tresses back into a ponytail. "There's no need to beat the door down," she admonished, blinking as she saw him, and to her empathetic soul, felt him. Kento was awash in a strange mixture of elation and anger, his face flushed and his hair even more disarrayed than usual. "I found something! Well, kind of, I mean, it found me, and it ran away, but I think it's one of the.the.you know, the THINGS that are hurting people!" "What?" Sai blinked. "Just now? But it's broad daylight! These guys only strike after dark!" "Well this one didn't wait for dark before it tried to eat my little sister!" Kento shot back. "What? Is she okay?" Nicole gasped. Sai moved away from the door. "Wait, we should wake up Rowen and have him hear this too, he may be able to figure something out," Sai said just before jogging down the hallway to rouse the perpetual late riser. Nicole and Kento stood in the living room, listening as Sai tried in vain to wake Rowen. Kento grumbled something colorful under his breath and disappeared the way Sai had gone. Nicole crossed her arms and counted quietly to herself. One. Two. Three. "EEEYAAAAAAGH!!!" A scant few moments later, Kento emerged, nearly dragging a very sleepy Rowen, who was blinking his eyes against the morning light and trying to gather his wits. "Damn you and your double cheeseburgers," Hashiba cursed, yawning. "I think you cracked a rib or two." "Do you always bellyflop on people to wake them up?" Sai grinned, coming up from behind. "Naw, Ro's a special case," Kento replied, tossing the now grumpy Rowen onto the couch. The cobalt haired man untangled himself from the throw pillows and sat up, scrubbing his eyes childishly. "Good thing that was a futon, or you would owe Sage a new guest bed, you big buffoon," he growled. "Th' hell you want so early, anyway?" "Chun Fa was attacked," Kento started. Ro's head snapped up, his eyes suddenly alert. Kento held up his hands placatingly. "She's okay, she's probably gonna need ten years of therapy, but she's not hurt. She skipped school and went to the park.she got found out because school got cancelled and all the other kids came home except for her. When I found her, she was screaming and looked like she'd been running from something.she told me later a dead girl was chasing her, but I never saw that. What I did see was.well, nothing, really, he was moving too fast, but he talked to me. At least, I think it was a he. Anyway, he was attacking me, and I didn't bring a weapon, and I had Chun Fa to worry about so I used my orb to call up my bo, and he.went away. I think he was scared of it." "What did he say?" Rowen asked, now quite alert, midnight ceruleans studying his friend as he narrated. "You said he spoke to you. What did he say?" "Um, I dunno.he spoke kind of funny.not like that Shakespeare guy with the thees and thous and stuff, but he did say 'ye' a lot. I think he called himself Deonus, or something like that, and said now wasn't the time.or something. I dunno, he didn't say much, he was kind of busy trying to saw my legs off. He moved fast though, *real* fast." "Deonus?" Rowen rested his chin on laced fingers, his eyes growing distant. "This was during the day, was it not?" "Yeah," Kento nodded. "About two hours ago. Look what he did to my shoe!" Kento lifted up his foot to show the severely shortened shoe. The rubber sole had been sliced off right up to the leather proper. Rowen snatched it, making Kento flail and bobble about for balance. "Hey!" "Whatever he used had to have been damn sharp and moving fast," he mused. "This stuff doesn't cut all that easy." He released Kento's foot and leaned back into the couch. "He spoke though, that means he's intelligent. He stopped attacking when you used the orb, right?"  
  
"Yeah," Kento nodded. "I dunno if it was because of that or because he just through foolin' around though. I didn't call up my armor, just the weapon." "I'd like to see the place you last saw this person.thing.whatever," Rowen stood, seeking out his shoes, which like everyone else's save Kento's, had been shed at the doorway. "What, you mean now?" Kento blinked. "No, next Tuesday," Rowen said over his shoulder. "Yes, now!" "I want to go as well!" Sai went for his shoes. "Me too," Nicole followed. There were no objections.  
  
Whatever had been there was long gone. Kento and Sai poked around in the foliage, trying to find any sign of the cackling little thing that had assaulted the two Fuans earlier. Nicole and Rowen wandered further into the wooded area to see if they could any clues. It was a pleasant enough day, warm and sunny, and more or less normal. Nicole turned her dancing green eyes up to the sun dappled, whispering tree canopy and smiled. "You know, some people might think this is strange," she commented, her eyes still on the leaves above. "What do you mean?" Rowen asked as he slapped aside a sprig of foliage that reached out onto the barely discernible path. "Well, here we are, searching a playground for the boogeyman," she giggled, glancing at the lanky, pale man beside her. He shrugged, not cracking a smile. "After all we've seen and done, I wouldn't be surprised at much," he explained. "I mean, what could possibly be more unbelievable than a big floating head trying to take over the world? Or five kids being able to magically summon up mystical armor? Or any number of other things..I think my personal Weird-O-Meter has a somewhat higher tolerance level than most people's, as should yours, at this point." "Careful there," Nicole laughed softly. "Someone might get the impression that you're turning blase." "Hey," Rowen stopped suddenly and knelt, plucking something off the ground. He ran his fingers over it briskly, knocking away dried mud. "Nevermind, it's just a barrette. Some kid must've lost it." "Let me see?" she asked as he went to throw it back on the ground. It was just a muddy little barrette with a blue bow tied onto it. He shrugged and handed it to her. Terror. Agony. Desperation. Death. Like a bolt of electricity, it jolted through her flesh and into her mind the moment she touched it. The tiny item was absolutely saturated with the most awful kinds of energy she could imagine. Nicole screamed and dropped it as though it had bitten her, covering her face and breathing heavily. Nothing had ever given her such a strong message. Startled, Rowen reached to touch her shoulder. "Nicole? Nicole! Come on, Spooky, what is it?" "Horrible," she breathed softly. "Something horrible happened to the wearer of that item. That poor child." "I don't understand," he peered closely at her, trying to catch her gaze as she moved her hands from her face. She looked up, gazing further off into the trees. She could feel it there.weaker.but definitely there-a ghostly trail of terrible emotion. Without thinking, she began to follow it, feet crunching on the carpet of twigs and leaves. Baffled, Rowen pursued. Their path would lead them further into increasingly difficult foliage. Rowen cursed as a thorny vine caught his ankle and he paused, gingerly unwrapping it from his sock with his fingers. When he looked up again, Nicole was gone. "Nicole?" Surely she hadn't gotten that far ahead so quickly. "Hey, wait up!" Upon receiving no answer, he began to trot briskly along the disappearing path, his eyes keeping a sharp lookout. "Nicole!" The silence was so heavy, the air so very still that it was nearly a tangible weight upon him. He realized he couldn't even hear Kento and Sai anymore. This was ridiculous. This wasn't a forest, it had to be less than three acres deep. And yet, he couldn't even hear the highway that should have been just on the other side of the trees. Nothing, save his own breath and the blood thrumming softly in his ears. A chill ran through him. He shook it off, angry with himself for getting lost in the first place. They were here somewhere. "Kento! Sai! Nicole?" Silence. "Anyone? Come on, this isn't the time to be playing games!" He growled in irritation. He didn't like it when things stopped making sense. He knew the wood didn't stretch far. He took to as brisk a walk as the thick vegetation would allow. If he just went straight, logic dictated that he should come out on the other side sooner or later. Fifteen minutes later, he was still walking through the foliage, with no end in sight. This was impossible, he should have come out the other side by now. Music. Chiming, cheerful music was playing somewhere up ahead. Dark brows furrowed as he moved onward towards the sound. It wouldn't take long before the trees melted away into a small, grassy clearing. In the middle of the clearing was a little carousel, of all things. Rowen stood frozen, staring. It was a pretty enough carousel, with five brightly painted, beautifully detailed horses staggered about a glossy, maplewood stage. The center pillar bore polished mirrors and carefully depicted, nineteenth century scenes of children rolling hoops and playing with dogs and ponies, wrought in long, wispy brush strokes. The carousel looked brand new, not a scuff or scratch or smear of mud touched its gilded frame. It looked.oddly tempting. He shook his head, a bit embarrassed at the thought. He had so many more important things to be doing. But why would someone build this so far in the wood? He glanced about, finding no keeper, or even a sign that someone had been here recently. He finally decided that, oddity though it was, he really did have other things to be doing. He walked past it, heading for the other side of the clearing. "Hey Mister!" cried a child's voice just before he reached the trees. Rowen blinked and turned. He saw no one, but the carousel had begun to move, the horses swaying gently up and down. Surely someone had turned it on, though he'd seen no controls for it in passing. He watched it turn a few times, listening as the music box chimes filled the air. Perhaps he had imagined someone calling out to him? He was just about to turn to leave again when one horse came around, bearing a small boy on its back. He couldn't see the child's face, as he was distanced and the boy kept his head down, ebony hair keeping his eyes cast in shadows. Rowen moved back towards the carousel, tilting his head a bit as he watched the boy come around again. Rowen noted that he wasn't wearing a school uniform, just blue shorts and a white T shirt. He wasn't sure, but supposed maybe the boy was too young to be in school yet. "Hey Mister, arentcha gonna ride?" the little one called out. Rowen crossed his arms and continued to watch. "Where are your parents, kid?" he countered. "You really should ride, it's lots of fun!" "Hey, I asked you a question!" Rowen ran a slender hand through the lazily kept bangs that hung forever in his face and sighed. "Can you at least tell me if you've seen a woman come through here? Red hair, green eyes, really pale.I think she was wearing a white shirt like yours." "Ride with me," the boy laughed. "And maybe I'll tell you!" "I don't have time for this!" Rowen cried in exasperation. "Just tell me, did you or didn't you see anyone?" The boy went silent, smiling as he passed Rowen again. The man sighed and grabbed a gold, spiral metal bar in passing, hefting himself onto the dark blue horse, of course. He was now just behind the boy. "Alright, I'm riding," Rowen grumbled. "Now, did you see anyone come through here?" "I've seen lots of people come through here," the child replied cheerfully, not turning to speak at him directly. "Is that a fact? Well I'm only interested in the girl." "They all come through here. Some stay and play, and some don't. You should stay and play. It's much easier if you do." "Sorry kid, I got important things to do," he slid off the horse and was about to jump off when the boy spoke again. "He's going to get you, sooner or later." The boy laughed merrily. "He'll get all of you. He'll kill you, like he's killed you before." Rowen went still, a cold feeling washing over him. Suddenly every instinct he had was screaming at him to run, to get away as fast as he could. He forced the feeling down, turning slowly to the child. "Those aren't very nice things to say," Rowen smirked. "If someone's killed me before, then I wouldn't be standing here anyway, right? You don't make any sense, kiddo." "You'll understand soon," the child laughed and looked over his shoulder. Rowen gasped and nearly fell off the platform. Familiar, angular blue eyes looked back at him. That child was the spitting image of. "Ryo?!" he reached out for him, and the child darkened and disappeared, as though he were a shadow all along. Rowen cried out in surprise and grabbed at the metal poles driving the horses. The carousel's music suddenly stopped, and the thing began to spin faster and faster, an insane maelstrom of color and flashing mirrors. At this speed, Rowen wasn't terribly sure how safe it was to jump off.but he wouldn't have a choice in the matter if it kept picking up speed. He found his hands slipping, and he desperately fought to hold on. The world blurred green and blue as his hold slipped and he flung free of the impossibly spinning contraption, striking the ground hard and rolling, white and red flashing before his eyes. The last thought through his mind was the realization that the child's horse had been red.and that the empty three had been pale blue, green, and orange. Before he could piece out the possible significance of what had to be mad coincidence, darkness overtook him. 


	8. One Way To Net A Fish

PART 1.8 ONE WAY TO NET A FISH  
  
Flying shrimp.  
  
It wasn't all that odd a sight around Sai and Kento. "Go long!" Sai called as he jumped on one of the kitchen chairs and hurled a freshly stir-fried morsel clear across the kitchen and living room, far into the hallway, where Kento made a spectacular leap to catch it in his mouth. He landed firmly on his feet and licked his lips with a grin, dark blue eyes sparkling gleefully. "Seven of ten!" Nicole giggled, giving his current catch its rating. "Seven!" Kento bawled in mock offense. "That was at least a nine!" "No," Nicole shook a finger at him. "The somersault half twist was a nine. You'll have to really work for your points with me." She turned to Sai, who was ready with another shrimp. "Pull!" "Right!" He pulled his arm back, one eyes closing, his tongue sticking out of one corner of his mouth. Nicole grinned and sat back to watch. The shrimp flew from Sai's fingertips as a little brownish pink blur.Kento leapt.and fell back, clutching his face. "OW!! My eye!" he cried, plopping on his backside. Nicole, concerned, knelt beside him. "Move your hand and let me see.come on now, let me see!" "RARGH!" Kento grabbed her and tugged. Nicole went down with a squeal. Sai laughed and hopped down off the chair. "Trickery isn't your style, Kento! I'm shocked!" "Aw shaddap and gimmee a hand," he started tickling at the struggling Nicole's ribs. She was.extremely ticklish. One could wiggle a set of fingers at her from one room over and the girl would start laughing. "Noooo!!" she squealed, flailing uselessly. "Sai Mouri, don't you dare!! I'll keep that special soup recipe all to myself if you lay a finger on me!" "Oooh," Sai winced. "Sorry Kento, she's got a firm hold on my loyalty.I've been after her for a while for that soup!" "Aww, you're no fun," Kento snorted and turned back to his victim. "Hey, I didn't say I was staying out of it, I just said I couldn't help *you*!" And with that, he pounced the much bigger Fuan. Kento squawked, and the three of them went rolling across the living room, upsetting the coffee table and coat stand before they snatched up the throw pillows and squared off, Nicole and Sai on one side and Kento sticking it alone on the other. "Nice odds!" Kento grinned. "Between the two of you, you still don't match up to me!" "We'll see about that!" Sai replied challengingly, and the three converged, smacking away gracelessly with the pillows. Minutes later, it was raining feathers and cotton stuffing, and the combatants flopped tiredly against the couch, chortling, A shadow fell over them, and they looked up in unison to find a rather unamused Sage glaring icily down at them, feathers and bits of fluff clinging to his hair and drifting about his shoulders. "Sage!" Nicole jumped to her feet, blushing slightly. "We can explain!" Kento stood as well, rubbing the back of his head and hiding the tattered and gutted pillow behind his back. Sage sniffed at the air and frowned. "Is something burning?" "The pan!" Sai cried, bolting towards the kitchen, followed closely by Kento. Sage groaned, then sank down onto the snowy looking couch, rubbing his temples. Nicole brushed away a clump of feathers from her shoulder and sat down beside him, worried eyes studying him a long moment before she curled her knees to her chest and snuggled into his side. He stiffened a moment, then sighed and shifted slightly to wrap his arms about her, chin resting atop her head. "You're home early," she murmured quietly. "Mother sent me home," he replied just as quietly. "I guess you were right.I really do need some real rest." "You never listen to me," she poked his side lightly and smiled to herself. "I know," he chuckled softly and gave her a little squeeze. "How did things go?" "We have a lot to talk about," she sighed. "Rowen got hurt, but he's okay now.just a bump on the head.he's upstairs sleeping it off." "Not anymore," came a voice from the doorway. The cousins looked up to see a cranky looking Rowen approaching. His head had been bandaged, wild tufts of azure hair poking out from between the strips. "What, surely our little tussle didn't wake you," Nicole giggled. "A tank couldn't do the job." "I wanted to wake up, believe me," Rowen replied with a shudder. Ugh, the nightmares he'd had! "Now that you're awake, would you mind telling me why you wandered off like that, and why Kento found you out like you were?" Nicole asked. "Eh," Rowen yawned and flopped into the armchair, long legs hanging over the arm. "Get everyone in here and I'll gladly tell you, though even I'm not quite sure what happened."  
  
Sage folded his hands and closed his eyes, leaning forward as Rowen and Kento finished saying their piece. "From what Rowen has said, it sounds almost as though this directly involves us. It may have been directed at us since the beginning. Are you sure it was Ryo?" "Very sure," Rowen nodded carefully, his head still throbbing. "I mean, it was like a kid-Ryo, but it looked just like him. Maybe he had a kid and never told us or something.but I still say it was Ryo himself, though I'm not sure how that's possible." "Under these circumstances, we can't let any possibilities be dismissed." Sage said. Kento crossed his arms and glared out the window into the unwelcoming night. "Well if it's the Dynasty, we've kicked their butts before and we can do it again," he growled. "I dunno," Rowen replied. "This isn't really their style, though I wouldn't put it entirely past them." "As I said," Sage murmured. "Let's not discount anything yet." "At any rate, I think we're onto something here," Sai said. "So far we've had two incidents in the same place. There's no reason to believe they won't be there a third time. Maybe we should go back to the park and see if we can't coax these monsters out where we can fight them?" "Yeah!" Kento turned around, liking that idea. "We can go right now! These guys are supposed to come out at night, and it's night now, so we'd have more chance of finding them and clobbering them!" "It's dangerous, but if we are to stop them, I suppose that isn't a bad suggestion," Sage stood, brushing the feathers from the pillowfight off his back. "I'm definitely going!" Kento grinned. "Me too!" Sai hopped to his feet. "I think I'm up to it," Rowen started pulling the bandages away from his head, shaking free now extremely cowlicked hair. Nicole quietly handed him back his headband. "Sage, you should stay here," Nicole tugged his arm lightly. "If a real fight does break out, your exhaustion may prove dangerous.you could get hurt." Sage shook his head. "We have more of a chance of just ending this whole affair if we do what we can now," he argued gently. Nicole grimaced. "Fine, then I'm going too," she announced. Both Sage and Kento winced a bit. "Very well then, let's get this over with," Sage nodded as he followed an eager Kento out the door.  
  
The great splash of celestial light that had spread across the heavens remained as unchanged as when it had appeared a week ago. It seemed to watch the little group as they wended their way through nearly deserted streets in Sai's little blue car. The trip itself was uneventful, and the park seemed quiet enough upon arrival, much to Kento's disappointment. The summer night air was warm and humid, the trees rustling ever so slightly. The swings squeaked faintly as they drifted lazily in the light, tugging breezes. The street lights were drowned out behind the leaves, leaving the park very dim indeed. Rowen tried to retrace his steps, but gave up after a few tries. It was simply too dark, and everything looked different in the moonlight. Kento wandered off, disappointed and frustrated. He wanted a fight.but more than that, he wanted to clobber this thing so his sister would be safe. He wanted it and its kind gone so he could tell her with confidence once more that there was no such thing as monsters. His foot came down in a puddle.and it kept going. Surprised, Kento lost his balance and fell. Water closed in swiftly over his head before he could shout, and he found himself sinking swiftly through dark, boundless liquid, the little splotch of moonlight, his only way out, shrinking away. He realized something had a hold on his foot, and he kicked at it, his lungs already burning for air. This was impossible! Puddles weren't endless, and they certainly didn't have.well, whatever it was.living in them. He felt something cold and slimy brush his wrist, coiling about it, and he jerked it away before it could get a good grip. That tiny spot of brightness above was getting further and further away. Kento curled his body in the water, fingers frantically tearing at the laces of his sneaker. A final kick, and Kento shot up towards freedom, and more importantly, air, leaving the thing with his shoe. It could have the damn thing! A few tantalizing inches from the surface, he felt the persistent grip of his attacker once more. Kento gave a desperate kick, and found that it was just enough to propel himself out for a few priceless seconds. He took a much needed breath and clawed uselessly at the edges of the puddle, the soft ground giving way under his efforts. "HE-" He was jerked back under before the cry quite left his lips, and he found himself ensnared in those cold, strong arms. The octopus from hell, Kento thought as his mind began to fade into a darkness as black as the water around him. Lucidity hadn't quite dulled away when he felt something else tugging at him, pulling him in the opposite direction. Something flashed silver in the near darkness, and the arms about him convulsed and loosened, drifting away. He felt more than heard some kind of roar, a low, profound vibration in the water that nonetheless set his ears to aching. Barely conscious, he just let himself be towed back towards the pale light slanting through the little opening above. Silhouetted against that weak light was a familiar form.the streamlined helmet of Torrent. Sai jerked backwards abruptly and gave Kento a hard shove towards the light as he found himself being hauled down into the depths instead. Kento gasped and coughed as he broke the surface once more, and he was vaguely aware of hands dragging him out onto firm ground. He coughed again, a large splash of cold, foul tasting water falling from his mouth to the blessedly solid ground below. Awareness rushed back at him and he looked up. Sage, Nicole, and Rowen were staring at him. "Kento, what-" Nicole began, but was cut off as Kento leapt for the water he'd just been pulled from.only to find it was a shallow, ordinary puddle once more. "SAI!!" he screamed and dropped to his knees, clawing at the mud with a vengeance, as though he could perhaps dig his way to him, dirty water and flecks of mud spattering his already soaked shirt. "No!! Give him back! Let me back in, you bastard!" "Kento!" Nicole cried and knelt beside him. Kento looked up, unfallen tears shimmering in his eyes. "I'm not crazy," he told her. "I was just in there! It.it was a helluva lot more than just a puddle two seconds ago! Sai went in there to save me.he's still there!" "Kento, I know," she soothed, thumbing a splatter of mud from his cheek. "We heard Sai armor up and came as fast as we could.besides, we couldn't have pulled you out from a two inch deep puddle like we just did. I believe you." Rowen snapped a switch off of a nearby tree and probed at the water, frowning. "Well, it's not very deep.not now, anyway.how do we get to him? We just can't leave him in there." "Of course not," Sage shook his head." But I think he'll be alright for now.his armor allows him to breathe underwater, after all. That should buy us some time. I don't think digging it up will do any good, however." Someone started laughing. Sage, Nicole, and Rowen paused, listening, trying to figure out where it was coming from. Kento wasn't terribly surprised, and he shot to his feet, yelling angrily into the night. "YOU!! What did you do to my friend, you creepy little twerp?!" The shrill, piercing laughter died off, and a scratchy voice answered gleefully. "Yer friend has come to play with us, he has!" the voice cackled. "A pity ye should miss out on it, lad, seein' it was ye we were invitin', an' not him, but ye jus' haaaaad t' be difficult! Yer loss, sez me!" Come to play? Rowen shivered. That was what the child-Ryo had said. "Why don't you get out here and fight!" Kento demanded, stepping towards the vague direction of the voice. "Such a temper!" Deonus tsked, then began to laugh that nerve grating, high pitched cackle again. "But if ye insist!" And.there was silence. Kento slowly relaxed, scowling. "Damned coward. Knew he wasn't gonna do it." Kento snarled and turned, walking back towards the puddle. A spherical object the size of a large beach ball bounced into the moonlit little clearing, landing to rest right in the middle of the group. Everyone shied away, not sure what to make of it for the moment. It was still for one tense moment, then unfolded with a sickening crackling sound. A dark, slimy skinned little figure squatted in the mud, leering up at them with an impossibly wide grin filled with thin, needle-like, blackened teeth. One bulging eye rolled sluggishly about with no rhyme or reason, and was large and round, the iris and pupil filmed over with sickly grey-white. The other eye was narrow and sharp, a tiny, piercing red dot against a field of jaundiced yellow. The nose, if one could call it that, was skeletal at best, appearing as two mismatched, vertical slits that opened and closed as the ugly thing snuffled at the air. On its head was something greatly resembling a jester's cap.but on closer inspection, appeared to actually be growing from the little monster's scalp. The filthy, frill-collared suit he wore heightened the impression. Spidery, disproportionately long fingers flexed and wiggled as he sat up. The thing remained hunched over, craning his neck to peer up at them with that permanent, ear-to-ear grin. "Gyeh," Rowen took a step back, grimacing. "So you're Deonus? A crispy critter if I ever saw one.the hell kind of rock did you crawl out from?" Rowen found Deonus' speech odd. It didn't quite fit into any given time frame.it was more like a combination of several periods, which just didn't make sense. Kento eyed the hunchbacked little daemon. He was gross, but despite the teeth and claws, he didn't look very strong. Those thin little arms that he kept curled so close to his chest looked slender enough to break without much effort, and those squatty legs surely couldn't carry him that fast. This couldn't be the same thing that had attacked him earlier.could it? Deonus cackled and made a mock bow. "That be me," he rolled his good eye to train it squarely on Nicole, who tensed and moved a bit closer to her cousin. "Th' others I know quite well by now," he mused aloud, tapping at his teeth with one sharp-looking finger. "Th' pretty lady be'z new.a good sign, me hopes, a good omen indeed." Sage narrowed his eyes and stepped right in front of Nicole, blocking the monster's view of her. "What do you mean, you know us?" he demanded. "We've never seen you before in our lives!" Deonus gave pause, tapping those haphazardly angled teeth again. "Aye," he reflected, his grin growing wider, a feat one would not have thought possible. "I suppose ye haven't at that..oh but I have seen ye." "You better start making sense!" Kento barked. "Where did you take Sai?!" "Oh don't ye worry," Deonus waved a lenghty hand at Kento dismissively. "Ye'll join him soon, ye will!" He canted his head to one side, his body shaking with impending laughter. "And how be ye sister, eh?" If that last bit was aimed at angering the ash haired boy, it worked. Kento charged at the thing, intending to kick him clear back into the treeline. Deonus cackled and.disappeared. Pain tore across Kento's shoulders and he stumbled, falling to his knees. Warmth spread slowly across his shirt, and he knew he was bleeding. Deonus giggled madly and rolled into a ball, launching himself at Sage, who grabbed Nicole and got out of the way. "I think Sai had the right idea!" Rowen cried as he kicked out at the gibbering thing as it bounced past. "Let's just armor up an' cream 'im! Armor of Strata! Tao Inochi!" Since they received the armor crafted by Suzunagi, the transformations had changed slightly to reflect each warrior's element. In Rowen's case glittering blue wind, almost like shattered glass, mingled with sakura petals to encase him in the still slightly unfamiliar silver and blue- violet armor. The odd golden crest on his helmet and stylized arrow emblem on his shoulder gleamed faintly, catching light from each other as well as his bow and quiver. "Armor of Hardrock! Tao Gi!" As Kento called for his armor he was surrounded in stone evidently summoned from the surrounding terrain as well as the familiar sakura, the earth quickly crumbling away to reveal Hardrock's silver, brown, and orange, with long, curving horns and the asymetrical helmet emblem arranged on his helmet. The heavy iron staff shone a bit less brightly than the other weapons, though the intricate carvings at either end glittered harshly as they caught the moonlight. "Armor of Halo! Tao Chi!" Sage's transformation was a bit more spectacular, with the ever-present sakura dancing wildly around thick white lightning bolts that converged on him to melt into silver and green metal. The entire armor as well as the immense silver nodachi glowed gently in the dim atmosphere, the soft aura hardening slightly around the gold crest and lightning emblem decorating his helmet. Nicole was last to go, having considerably less practice than the guys. "Armor of Seraph! Tao Wa!" White and silver feathers fluttered along with the sakura, spiraling around her to harden into silver and white armor bearing winglike etchings along shin guards, arm guards and her helmet, where her long hair was now hidden aside from a few curls appearing above her eyes and at the nape of her neck. Gleaming white wings arched back from slightly above her ears, with her armor's six-wing emblem centered on her forehead in the same fashion as Kento and Sage. Seraph's silver and white was brighter than even Halo, nearly dazzling in the darkness as it caught and amplified the moonlight on gilded contours. Deonus giggled madly and bounced off into the dark. "Not now, precious ones! Not now! But I shall leave ye with some wondrous toys indeed!" "That was abrupt," Kento complained. "I'm gonna go after him! He's not gonna get away that easily!" "Kento stop!" Rowen cried. Instinct told him something didn't feel right here. Kento was suddenly thrown back as a pillar blasted violently out of the ground, leaves and earth spraying every which way. Seven more pillars appeared, surrounding the small group. Kento scrambled backwards towards the tightening knot of warriors, eyes wide as he watched the wetly glittering, black columns, each thicker than his shoulders were broad, bend inwards towards them. Bent like that, they weren't quite tall enough to break over the treetops. The ends were smooth teardrop shapes, reminding one of some enormous plant bud. That was, in fact, more or less what they were. The buds cracked, faintly glowing seams snaking down their length, and they began to open, sepals peeling away with a soft hissing sound, larger, dusky petals opening and spreading in smooth succession. Four of the buds opened to reveal an empty, dark center that appeared endless. The other four were more startling, the thick petals parting to reveal gargantuan skulls of some unidentifiable animal with long muzzles filled with rows of sharp teeth. Thick cords of twisted vines threaded along the bone and through bits of clinging, uncomfortably fresh looking meat, acting as artificial tendons that made the jaws snap and gape threateningly. The four plants with empty centers bowed down in unison, touching their petals to the ground.and when they lifted back up, they left behind squirming, slimy looking packages that broke open to reveal.people? They had once been, perhaps. The glassy expressions and gaping wounds through which little tendrils and leaves wove through suggested fresh kills, animated by the moving flora. "What is this, Night of the Living Dead?" Kento cried, watching the shambling figures approach. Nicole felt weak in the knees, her stomach a cold, nauseous knot. She hated zombies. She could never sit and finish any of those horrible B movies no matter how much the boys had prodded her to. "Those people aren't so much undead as just being puppeteered by those vines," Rowen replied grimly. "I'm guessing that if we get rid of the plants, the people will just fall." "At least we don't have to worry about hurting anyone," Sage said, armored fingers tightening about the hilt of his nodatchi. "They're already dead." "Yeah, and who ever felt bad about pulling up weeds, right?" Kento grinned. "This should be easy!" "Don't start getting cocky," Sage cautioned. "I wish you'd stop telling me that!" "I wish you'd start actually listening!" "Heads up!" Rowen interrupted, loosing a volley of arrows into one of the skull-plants that had suddenly snapped for them. It pulled back, shaking itself back and forth, dislodging most of the golden arrows.they simply had nothing to catch in. A second one lunged for Sage, and he leapt forth to meet it, driving the sword into the thing's skull with a ghastly cracking sound. It keened sharply and thrashed, making Sage rather hard pressed to hang on, feet planting firmly against bone as he tried to retrieve the blade. Kento picked his own fight with another skull, cracking the bo down on its muzzle as it tried to scoop him up. The armor enhanced force of it sent little cracks starbursting across the bone. He went to jump away, but too late.it caught him in its mouth, trying to impale him on gnashing teeth. Nicole dodged away from the last skull, her attention on the other plants...the ones steadily producing those puppets. The boys were so busy with the other kind that they hadn't noticed the small army that was building right under their noses. Her armor weapon, smaller than Sage's nodatchi but longer than Ryo's katana, rose before her. Her surekill was unique among the other Ronin's. Unlike theirs, it would not harm an ally even if it struck them head-on. With this advantage, she could use her special attack more freely than the others, for she did not have to worry about her friends being caught in the blast. She concentrated on the growing number of animated corpses before her, silver light coalescing around the blade of her weapon, growing, intensifying.her hand snapped down, the blade leveling, releasing the accumulated, focused power in a brilliant, feather-laced spiral of rushing silver. The light engulfed the figures, who began to shriek shrilly before dissolving in that silver storm. The nearest plant was also caught in it, and the thing began to writhe and shrivel. Nicole stumbled, hands to her knees. Her Holy attacks seemed highly effective.but it would be a few minutes before she had the energy to do that again. In the meantime, Kento had managed to avoid being chewed, but couldn't escape the jaws. He was strong enough to keep them from closing, but he couldn't keep those teeth from crashing down if he tried to make a break for it. Rowen was getting nowhere with his opponent. The skull just had no weak point, and the stem was tough and impervious to his arrows. He couldn't use his special attack in this chaos.his friends kept falling in and out of his striking range. Come on, Hashiba, think. It's what you're good at. His eyes fell to Kento's struggle. "Kento!" he cried. "Hold that thing's mouth open for me, will ya?" "Huh?" Kento grimaced and did as asked anyway, arms above his head, hands planted firmly against the roof of the mouth, body stoutly rigid. Rowen stepped up and took careful aim. Sage and Nicole's positions were always changing. He knew exactly where Kento's was. "Don't move," he said calmly, azure glitterings falling upon the drawn arrow. "HEY!" Kento cried in alarm. "What are you doing?" "Just stay still!" Rowen snapped. "Trust me!" The arrow flew forth with a scream of tearing air. Kento tensed, his eyes going wide, but kept his position. He felt the wind and a nearly electric kind of tingle from the charged projectile as it sailed through the space between his cheek and upraised arm. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the skull-plant's stem bulged grotesquely, the distension running up its length until it struck just behind the head, where blue rays of light slashed out in starbursts.and exploded with a rain of damp vegetable flesh and shattered bone. Kento flew forward from the force and hit the ground rolling, bowling right over a pair of plant zombies and slamming into the stem of the skull- plant that Sage was battling. Rowen trotted over and peered at him critically. Kento blinked drunkenly up at his blue-armored comrade and grinned. "Hell yeah, let's do that again!" he cried. Rowen chuckled. "Knew you'd be able to take it. Hey!" he used his bow to fend off three more of those puppets. "Get up and fight, there's still plenty more of those things!" Sage had managed to free his sword, and drove it into a different place, higher up, where he knew the joints of bone should be. The skull shook wildly, trying to get him off. He let his feet slide off, using his weight and the creature's own thrashing to lever the great sword back and forth.sure enough, a large crack began to appear. The thing squealed and reared back, but Sage hooked his feet under the lower jaw and pulled as hard as he could. The crack was wedged open further, and the top of the skull split in two with a wet, crunching sound. To his surprise, the cracking continued.and the skull fell apart. Bereft of support, he had no choice but to drop back to the ground and watch as the ruined creature writhed and finally withered. Kento had gotten back to his feet and was kicking away the puppets, which, while unarmed and generally easy to defeat, were just growing too many in number to deal with. Rowen had begun shooting more charged arrows into the puppet-plants.after all, they had no mouths to close.and by now there was only one left. A second blast from Nicole's sword cleared the field of most of the puppets, much to Kento's relief. The Ronins were definitely gaining the upper hand in this battle when suddenly, the one remaining skull-plant screamed and bent backwards.and the ground began to tremble. "I.don't like this" Rowen grimaced, feeling the vibrations right through his armor. "The way is clear, let's run for it!" Nicole cried, but too late. Dead white roots, some as thick as the plants themselves, erupted from the ground, splitting and cracking it. The four warriors tried to keep their footing, but the ground would heave and dissolve beneath them, revealing a gaping, endless pit that surely had not been there before. There was nothing to grab on to, nothing to stop their fall. No way out. They fell into the unknown embrace of the velvet darkness below. 


End file.
